E S C A P E
by Dutchess Frost
Summary: The plan was, she'd get her Hunter's License. Then, she could escape from her family, from her past, from everything she hated. Two troublesome boys- idiots- change those plans a little. Hell, they changed them a lot. Now, she's thrown into these messes known as friendships, arguments, and fighting, and she's not sure she can still escape. (Eventual Killua X OC. Slow burn.)
1. Shoes

**Welcome to my first Hunter X Hunter fanfiction! Please enjoy your read :)**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hunter X Hunter.**

* * *

 **Chapter One: Shoes**

She tucked her black bangs behind her ear again as the little man in the suit handed her a tag. "You're number 101. Please keep your tag on at all times." Accepting the tag, she flipped it over multiple times, looking for any signs of traps, but the only thing on it was a little bug that she recognized as a tracking device. Shrugging, she clipped it onto the outside of her deep blue t-shirt. Wiping the dust off her black pants, she hitched the bag over her shoulder and gazed around.

Everyone here looked intimidating. Kinda.

"Hello! You must be a rookie!"

The black-haired girl turned in the direction of the voice. It was a short, fat man in a blue shirt with the tag number 16 pinned on. He smiled. "I'm Tonpa, I'm a veteran here. What's your name?"

"...Aliara."

Tonpa beamed brightly, his smile becoming more and more forced. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. _This girl is..._

She was dressed in a simple blue t-shirt and black pants. She had raven black hair pulled up in a short ponytail, and her eyes were a rich, emerald green. As cute as she sounded, with a lovely name like Aliara, her look was a mix of boredom, and _what-the-hell-do-you-want._ She had a rather large, forest green bag slung over her shoulder, that looked lighter than it probably was.

 _This girl was creepy._

"Look," she stated with a bored and quiet tone, "I don't do well with people. I appreciate the welcoming." However, her tone suggested she clearly did not and she would've preferred the stout man to be a million miles away.

Tonpa sweat-dropped. "Well, uh, I'd still like to be friends with you! Here, a juice to toast our new friendship!"

Aliara didn't trust the man with a single cell in her body. But, humoring him, she accepted the juice, and cracked open the can, sniffing it. _Must be a poison of sorts._ Shrugging, she downed the entire can, and didn't miss the small smirk Tonpa gave off. Finishing, she tossed the can back to him. "Thanks."

"I'll take one."

Aliara whipped her head around and saw a boy about her height with pure white hair- not something you saw everyday. His hair was messy, but his bright blue eyes suggested a child of innocence. The boy clutched a skateboard under one arm. He beamed.

"Uh... Uh, sure!" Tonpa complied, digging out another juice can. "What's your name?"

"I'm Killua," he said cheerfully, also downing the can eagerly. _Idiot._ But when it didn't seem to affect Killua at all, the stout man's face went red. _Okay, maybe not so much of an idiot._ Tonpa's expression of pure fury made Aliara smirk slightly.

She pulled her bag up onto her back. "Sorry, Tonpa-san. Poisons don't work on me." Aliara turned on her heel, whistling, and made her way towards the far wall. She heard stuttering behind her, but then the boy's voice rang clear. "Thank you, Tonpa-san. The drink was good." More footsteps, heading her way.

Aliara plopped herself down at the wall and pulled out her bag. The boy stood over her. She looked up. "What do you want?"

"You know there was a laxative in the juice?" He asked quietly.

 _So did you, apparently._ "So?"

He narrowed his eyes, then stuck out a hand. "Killua."

She hesitated a second, then returned his vice grip with the same stare- sizing each other up. "Aliara."

With a plunk, he sat down next to her. _He's very irritating._ Opening her bag, Aliara pulled out a case of metal objects and tools. Killua's eyes widened in surprise as she pulled out a pair of metal shoes. "What's that?"

"Shoes I made," she replied, pulling out a screw driver and fitting it into a screw. He waited for her to elaborate, and with a sigh, she did. "I built them because I'm not very fast. But I can build things. So I made these. Watch."

She held the shoes in from of Killua. With a flick of a switch on the side of the shoes, small little wheels popped out. "They're roller blades."

He watched intently, and she could barely read his expression. Annoyed, she flicked another switch, and the wheels contracted and made way for small, black pads. "This is the jump version. These are pads with springs inside, and can help me jump twice as high."

"Cool," he remarked. "But why are you working on them?"

Aliara's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Because they're not done yet, idiot."

"They're done," he argued. "You made the two little gadgets move without problem. There's nothing wrong with it."

 _This kid was good at reading people. It was kind of scary._ "Fine. Two reasons I'm working on it," she snapped, holding up two fingers in front of a flustered Killua's face. "One, I'm trying to get something on the outside, so they look like normal shoes. Second..." she shrugged. "I guess I just kind of wanted to show someone."

He frowned. "Nobody knows about them?"

Aliara shrugged. "Well, my family does, but they think it's a waste of my time and effort. I never really see if they think it's good or not."

There was a long pause as the girl tightened some of the screws. Killua eventually said, "They're really good."

"You think so?"

"The craftsmanship is really good. And you did a good job with making the wheels and springs contract and stuff." He looked away awkwardly, like he had said too much.

But Aliara beamed. "Well, as my first official critic, Killua, thank you. That means a lot."

He smiled sheepishly. "How are you going to make them look normal?"

Aliara pondered this for a second before she proceeded to take off her red and black runners. Killua watched her as she managed to slide the metal shoe inside, almost like a sock. "Ta da."

"You forgot about the springs. And the wheels."

"Oh." Frowning, she took the metal shoe out, eyed her running shoes casually, and then tore the bottom of the shoe off in one swipe of her hand and inserted the metal shoe inside. Before Killua could protest, she had used some tools from her bag to tie the sides of the shoe down. On the outside, they looked completely normal. "There. One down, one to go."

"But now you have no shoes!"

"I'll just wear these."

"But what if it hadn't worked?!"

"I would've gone barefoot."

"You are an idiot."

"So are you."

They glared at each other for a second, before Aliara's face brightened. "Did you know I can operate them from this thing?" She pulled a metal band out of her back.

The confusion completely forgotten, Aliara fixed up her other shoe (by ripping her other running shoe apart), and tried them on. They spent a while fiddling with Aliara's metal wristband, which she had fashioned with a few different buttons that automatically activated or recalled the wheels of spring pads. She spent a few minutes attaching things to the metal piece so she could fasten it on her wrist, and then tied it on. It worked, much to her delight.

Aliara had no clue why she was sharing all this with Killua.

 _It's not like I'm doing myself any harm. Knowledge of the shoes is no good in battle. Besides, I've got other things up my sleeve._ She didn't allow Killua to try on the shoes, but let him see what else was in her bag. In return, he showed her his skateboard, which she quickly learned she was no good at.

It was kind of fun to smile. This was fun.

"It's Tonpa," Killua said after a while, motioning towards the man. "I'm going to go screw with him and ask for another drink."

"Get me one too!" Aliara called to his retreating back. He didn't make any notation that he had heard her, and she frowned, before packing everything up in her bag. The room was getting crowded. They'd probably start soon.

She heard the can coming before she saw it, so Aliara raised her hand and caught the can out of midair. "Thanks, Killua," she called without looking up.

There was a loud noise, and a man with purple hair and a darker purple suit appeared, carrying a weird device that was making the noise. Aliara sighed. _I guess it's time to start. Let's test out the shoes._ She gathered her bag and walked forward with the crowd, keeping low, which wasn't very difficult because of her height.

"The hunter exam will now begin. Please, follow me."

 _How the heck can he talk if he has no mouth?!_

Everyone moved forwards.

"Let's begin with a little verification," the man she assumed was an examiner said, "it's an extremely difficult exam. Sometimes you miss a chance, and other times, you may die." With those solemn words, he began walking down the long, wide tunnel. "Count is okay. Please, follow me."

With that, he broke into a run.

Aliara's eyes lit up like the sun and a grin stretched across her face. _I get to try out my new shoes already!_

Skating along the ground, navigating through the crowd, and spotting Killua, Aliara zoomed around. _This is it! Maybe this won't be so bad. Hopefully, this won't be so bad._

 _And hopefully, my family doesn't find me here._

* * *

 **Hello again!~**

 **A bit about the story.**

 **I will make the other chapters a bit longer than this if I can. I will try to aim for 2, 000 words but I may not make it every time. My minimum is 1, 000. If you have any other opinions on story lengths, please drop a review or shoot me a PM.**

 **This story is rated T. There will be blood and a bit of gore. I will not be writing sex scenes, because this is a story about twelve-year-old children.**

 **If you have any questions, ideas, or feedback, please tell me! I love to hear everything. But, please, no flames.**

 **Thank you, lovelies!~**


	2. Run

**Chapter Two: Run**

Aliara glided across the floor, extremely slow at first, because the crowd was thick and not as fast as her on her roller skates. The skates were working, and were rolling along the smooth floor with no sound. They were almost unnoticeable- unless, of course, you looked down or noticed that she wasn't exactly moving normally. Eventually, Killua rolled up next to her on his skateboard. "How old are you?"

"Twelve," she said, glancing at Killua. "You?"

"Same as you," he replied. He jutted a finger out in front of them at a pack of three people. "You think he's twelve too?"

Aliara squinted. It was a boy with tall, spiky black hair in a green jacket and shorts. He had matching shoes on, and from behind, Aliara could see he was carrying a fishing pole. She shrugged. "Probably."

Killua didn't acknowledge her, which made her glare at him, but instead he pushed a foot off the ground and zoomed forwards, gliding by the boy, sizing him up. There was a blond kid who Aliara couldn't distinguish the gender of (it was a bit difficult from behind) and a tall, black-haired guy in a suit that watched Killua zoom by. Perfectly content with being alone again, she continued to peacefully skate behind them, trying little hops in the air while hitting the button on her wristband. _Smooth retraction._ She did it again, and hit the ground and rolled again. _Perfect._

"Hey, kid!" The man in the suit yelled, distracting her. "That's cheating!"

Aliara almost face-palmed. _No, it's not._

"Why?" Killua asked. "He just said to follow him."

"It's an endurance test!" Suit Guy yelled loudly, his glasses almost falling off his head. _No, it's not, you ignorant old man._ He turned around and saw Aliara (had she said that out loud?), and the yelling recommenced. "And you! You're roller skating! That's cheap!"

 _Thanks a lot, Killua. You roped me into this._ She ignored the pestering guy and skated by him, punching Killua in the shoulder as she reached him. He frowned and rubbed his shoulder. As the black-haired kid started arguing with Suit Guy, Killua hissed, "What was that for?"

"You just had to go and show off, didn't you?" she scowled back.

He glared back at her. "I wasn't showing off!"

"Not showing off the skateboard? Whatever." She moved away to the side. _This is what I get! I don't do well with people._

Aliara tried to ignore Killua, but she felt kind of... dejected. She heard him ask the other kid how old he was, and he responded with twelve- the same age as she and Killua. _There's nobody else here our age. Maybe Killua's just trying to make friends._

The word made Aliara's blood boil. _Friends? No way. I don't make friends._ At least, that's how she'd been raised. _Everyone else is either an ally or an enemy, no in between. No room for friends, blah blah blah. Something about some people being servants too. I can't make friends. What am I doing, trying to talk to Killua? I-_

"That emo over there is Aliara."

Her temper boiled over as she whirled around in Killua's direction, almost losing her balance on her skates. "What was that, short stack?"

"I'm taller than you!" Killua complained. He was running now, skateboard tucked under his arm. The boy in green with the fishing rod was running beside him, laughing. Aliara's face was bright red, but she sucked up her pride, made a little jump in the air, smacked her wrist band, and landed, just like she had practiced. The wheels had safely retracted and now she was running alongside Killua and the other boy. _Perfect again._ "If you guys are running, I'll just run too," she muttered. She swiveled her head around, glaring at the Suit Guy. "Satisfied, old man?"

Suit Guy sputtered in anger, swinging his hands wildly. "Hey! I'm from your generation!"

All three 12-year-olds stared at him with a blank expression. "You sure?" the other boy asked loudly.

"No way," Aliara mumbled under her breath.

"That's it, Gon!" Suit Guy thundered. "I'm never talking to you again!"

 _So his name's Gon._ Aliara shrugged and just kept running next to them.

A couple seconds later, Suit Guy spoke up again. "Why's a girl like you taking the hunter exam? Isn't that dangerous?"

It was as if a brick had fallen onto Aliara's head.

She set her jaw angrily, and her eyes widened. The boys, bless their souls, noticed. Gon took a step to the side, and Killua simply watched with a grin. Aliara planted her left foot on the ground and spun, her right foot sailing higher than Killua thought she could kick. Her foot sailed into Suit Guy's face.

He actually stumbled and made a face plant into the ground. The blond boy (yes, he was definitely a boy, she could tell now) helped him up, almost laughing. "Oi! What was that for?"

"Just because I'm a girl," Aliara grumbled under her breath, running to catch up to the boys, "doesn't mean I'm not perfectly capable of handling myself."

Killua made a low whistle and Aliara raised an eyebrow at him. He shrugged. "What? It was a nice kick."

They just kept running and running. The farther they went, to Aliara's irritation, the more annoying the two others got. At one point, she tried to speed up, but they just followed. Annoying. _Can't they see that they annoy me?_ Suit Guy, who's name was actually Leorio, fell behind at around the 60 kilometer mark but sped up, screaming in determination. Slowly but surely, people were starting to drop, but not until the 80 kilometer mark, at least. Not many, but a few. Most people seemed to be in tip top condition, and the worst were only sweating slightly. Gon and Killua were handling it fine.

Then they reached the stairs, and Aliara smirked. She was going to try her shoes out again. Hitting a button on her bracelet, springs popped out from the bottom of the shoes, and she started taking the stairs three at a time. _They work so well!_ Killua and Gon started matching pace with her, but after they had all advanced to the front of the pack, she hit her wrist again and went back to normal running. "Just testing them out," she assured Killua, who had raised an eyebrow at her suspiciously. _Test, successful._

"Hey, Killua, Aliara," Gon said after a while, "Why do you guys want to be hunters?"

 _They ask too many questions!_

Aliara didn't respond, but Killua did. "I thought it'd be interesting. But so far, I'm disappointed."

"You're not wrong," Aliara complained. "This is kind of boring."

They both looked at her expectantly. _Crap, they want me to answer the question._ When Aliara didn't answer, Killua, who was in the middle of three, poked her in the shoulder. "Why do you want to be a hunter?"

"No reason."

They didn't buy it. Gon and Killua kept staring at her until their annoying stares became too much for Aliara and she snapped, "No reason!"

"Really?" Gon wondered. "My father's a hunter. I want to be one just like him!"

"What kind of hunter is he?" Killua inquired.

Thankful that the attention was off her, Aliara paced herself the rest of the way in silence. When the bright light filled the tunnel, and everyone saw the exit, Killua announced, "Race you guys!" and took off. Not to be beaten, Gon and Aliara threw the rest of their energy forwards as they bolted after Killua, almost surpassing the examiner. "GOAL!" All three of them chorused as they jumped out into the open.

The examiner's eyes widened. "I think I won," Killua said smugly.

"No way! I was first!" Gon said.

Aliara rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I really don't care. But I'm pretty sure I was first."

"EXAMINER! WHO WAS FIRST?!" Gon and Killua cried.

His eyes wide, he only said, "I think all three of you passed at the same time."

Killua and Gon started squabbling again. Aliara didn't think she had ever been more annoyed by two boys, even her brothers. She flicked them both in the foreheads. "Idiots. We all came first, got it?"

How the heck was she going to keep her sanity with these two around?

The second part of the first round passed even faster than the first. Swindler's Swamp, the examiner called it. Aliara frowned. If she tried to use the wheels, they'd probably be ruined. They was a minor confusion where a strange creature attempted to convince them that the man in the purple suit was not their examiner. The creepy clown man (Aliara literally shivered staring at him) solved the problem in his own dangerous and creepy manner, and received a warning from the examiner. The conflict resolved, he took off, and everyone followed.

They ran through the swamp, staying as close as they could to the examiner- partially because they could've easily gotten lost, and partially because Hisoka, the crazy clown dude, was oozing bloodlust. Badly. _I've never seen anyone so blood thirsty._ Gon turned around at one point, going back for Leorio and Kurapika, who had gotten lost.

"Oi, Gon!" Killua had cried. But their new friend was already gone. He shrugged, mumbled, "he better make it to the goal on time," and continued running. Shrugging, Aliara followed. At least another hour passed of running, avoiding creatures, and staying away from the trees that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

They were among the first to make it to the finish point. Killua and Aliara shared a high-five. "Gon'll be here soon," the white-haired boy said cheerily.

Aliara nodded along, then plopped herself down on the grass and pulled out her backpack. "What now?" Killua asked, sitting down next to her. "I thought you were done the shoes."

"I thought of more stuff on the way," Aliara said absentmindedly. "I'm thinking of spikes on the bottom of the shoes." She pulled her shoes off, wiggling her toes, and started pulling metals parts off the bottoms. The pieces scattered in the grass.

"What if you don't fix them by the time the second stage starts?" Killua asked, watching her hands fly around the metal and the tools.

She shrugged, rolling her eyes. "Then I go barefoot. You already asked me this, idiot."

"You're the idiot."

"You're a bigger idiot."

Killua scoffed. "Girls are bigger idiots."

Aliara's eyes flashed completely white and she smacked Killua over the head with her open hand. "Shut up, ghost boy!"

He started to laugh. "When Leorio asked you why you were here, it got you riled up, so I thought I'd try." Still snickering to himself, he ducked another one of Aliara's swings. Then Killua frowned. "Wait. Ghost boy?"

"Suits you," she replied, keeping her eyes fixed on her shoes.

Killua glared at her. "Hey!"

Aliara stared at Killua, and then, for the first time in a long time, burst into laughter. It felt so, incredibly good to laugh. Killua joined in, and then they were both laughing, attracting the attention of a couple other participants. But for once, Aliara didn't care. It just felt so good to laugh.

 _Are we becoming friends?_

 _No way._

 _Not possible._

Phase one was over. Onto stage 2.

* * *

 **I'm struggling with what to give Aliara as a nen power. I was sure at one point, then more ideas came along, and... Agh.**

 **I've been thinking of;**

 **Fire. I like the idea of fire.**

 **Ice. Something to do with ice. I don't know how to make that work, though.**

 **Something like Kite's, where she summoned different weapons at random.**

 **I DON'T KNOW.**

 **What do you guys think?**

 **Night Owl:** Aw, thanks! I'm glad you like it so far!

 **Please review!~**


	3. Sushi

**Chapter Three: Sushi**

Aliara had miraculously finished the spiking on her shoes by the time Kurapika and Gon arrived.

About two dozen short, silver needles protruded from the bottoms of her shoes at the click of a button. The wiring so that it would activate with the wristband took about five minutes. Killua watched in bizarre fascination- the way her hands moved, the way she did it so effortlessly.

Not many had given up or died in the last round, Aliara had noticed. They still had a rather large amount of people. When the gates of a large building opened up and revealed a girl with teal-coloured hair that stuck up in five different ways and a huge, black-haired man, Aliara tensed. They revealed that the next task would be food- cooking. Aliara cocked an eyebrow- she couldn't cook to save her life. And she knew it. Buhara, the tall, fat man, requested pork from the Biska woods. Hitting one of the buttons of her wristband, Aliara zoomed away on roller skates.

It didn't take long to find the pigs. Huge, hulking brutes with large snouts. Aliara caught one charging at her and jumped, hitting her wristband. In midair, the wheels contracted, and she landed safely in a tree.

Killua jumped into the tree next to hers. "Pigs. Fun." His sarcasm almost made Aliara smile. They both watched in fascination as Gon stupidly ran at a pig, and not-so-stupidly smacked it with his fishing rod on the head. The pig crashed, knocked out.

"The head is the weak spot," Aliara said aloud. She literally fell out of the tree and landed, feet first, on the pig's skull. The pig grunted and fell unconscious. Hoisting the hunk of meat up, she joined the rest of the participants on the run back to Buhara. Killua and Gon were both running next to her, each having successfully grabbed their own pig.

"You sure you can carry that?" Killua asked her.

Aliara glared at him. "I'm fine, you idiot."

He stared at her for a few seconds. "What?" she scowled.

"Eh- nothing," he mumbled, looking away. Aliara could've sworn his cheeks were tinged red.

The pigs were all devoured by Buhara- seventy in total- and he declared every single pig was good. Menchi, the teal-haired girl, unfortunately wasn't finished. "Make me sushi," she demanded. "If I say it's good, you pass. When I'm full, the test is over."

"Sushi?" the crowd grumbled in assent. _Nobody knows what it is,_ Aliara realized as she followed everyone else to the kitchen counters inside.

Then she realized all four of the boys were looking at her. "What?"

"You're a girl," Leorio stated, apparently forgetting his mistake in the tunnels, "you should know how to cook."

Aliara hoofed Leorio in the stomach with her foot. "Idiot! No, I've never cooked!" _Other people have always done that for me._

"Eh, what's a sushi?" Gon wondered aloud, finding a counter beside Killua and a gasping Leorio.

Aliara took a counter on the other side of Killua. "It's a really expensive dish of raw food, I think. Rice, meat, veggies, all raw and wrapped up tightly together."

Kurapika nodded. "Yes, I've read about it. You can use white vinegar and dressing too."

"What?!" Leorio said loudly. "I thought you said you've never cooked!" He jabbed a finger at Aliara. "So how do _you_ know what sushi is?!"

 _He said that WAYYY too loudly._ Aliara smacked her forehead as half the contestants turned and eyeballed her, trying to figure out what she was doing. _Nobody else knows what they're doing. Hmm..._

"Okay," Aliara said. She turned to face the white-haired boy. "C'mon, Killua, let's go get some nuts and berries. Those are _essential_ for sushi."

They all turned to exit, but were passed by nearly every other exam participant. Aliara watched them go with a wide grin on her face.

"Wait," Gon murmured after everyone had left. "There's not actually nuts and berries in sushi, right?"

"Nope," Aliara said, almost cackling.

Killua made a low whistle. "You are _evil_."

"Wait, they were SPYING on us?!" Leorio said, dumbfounded.

Kurapika smiled. "We need fish. Let's go hunt some."

The five all left, the gears in their brains clicking together. Menchi watched them go in amusement. "They all believed the girl without a second thought," she said to Buhara. "Very gullible."

Buhara burped. "Have I seen her before?"

Menchi shrugged. "Maybe. She does look familiar, mmm?"

* * *

They had caught fish and headed back. Most of the other contestants were chopping up berries rapidly, mixing it with their rice. Menchi was amused. But when the five returned with fish, and the rest of the contestants got a good look at them all, silence filled the area.

"I thought you said you need berries and nuts," gasped one in disbelief.

Aliara grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "I guess I don't know how to make sushi, eh? After all, I'm just a _little girl_."

Seeing the adult men and women run back into the forest made Killua, Gon, and Aliara burst into laughter. Only two other contestants remained behind, one bald man in a black ninja-like suit and another guy near the back that Aliara couldn't make out. Kurapika smiled and Leorio started laughing, too. They all started making their sushi, while Aliara desperately tried to remember what it looked like. _I should've paid more attention at meal times..._

Leorio handed his in, but Menchi tossed it over her head without even tasting it. Gon's dish got the same treatment.

Aliara started rolling the rice, and slicing the fish. _It's supposed to be small. Layered..._ Following her instincts, she carefully put the dish together. Menchi seemed difficult to please.

Then the bald ninja man went up and ruined everything.

Menchi actually tasted his dish. Then shook her head. "Nope, not good enough."

"WHAT?!" the man exploded in rage, "ROLLED RICE SHAPED TO BE EATEN IN ONE BITE WITH A LAYER OF RAEFORD ALL COVERED BY A SLICE OF THIN FISH MEAT! THAT'S WHAT I DID!"

All the other applicants immediately set to work, following his example. _He is an idiot._ Aliara rolled her eyes, and then, decided to give her dish a try.

Menchi accepted the look, and tasted it, thinking. "Nope. Best I've tried today, but that's not saying much at all. NEXT!"

Sighing, she went back to the table, where Killua was slicing apart his fish. Menchi failed everyone- and that was not an exaggeration. Gon kind of sulked, and Killua and Aliara looked at him with a mixture of pity and amusement. Aliara was kind of frustrated, too. Menchi was not being very fair- her expectations were abnormally high.

Several of the contestants started to riot. One large, sumo-wrestler man started advancing on Menchi, but Buhara sent him flying. "You don't need to do that," Menchi scolded him with a sigh.

"But you would've killed him," the large man argued, lowering his hands from the gaping contestants.

She shrugged. "Probably."

 _She's far more dangerous than she looks,_ Aliara realized, cocking an eyebrow. Menchi pulled out a set of extremely sharp knives, and to Aliara's amazement, started juggling them. She started arguing with the rest of the contestants. _This is getting nowhere._

"I'm bored," Killua complained, jamming his hands into his pockets.

That was when a huge blimp with the Hunter Committee logo on it was noticed, hovering above the sky. The participants started gawking and yelling. "What, they've come to rub it in our faces that nobody passed?" Aliara complained incredulously.

Not exactly. A tall man (everyone looked tall to her, though) wearing white and blue robes leaped out of the blimp. Considering how old he looked, he should have been injured by the high jump, but he looked and acted completely fine.

"THAT'S the chairman?!" someone protested.

Gon's eyes widened.

The chairman of the hunter committee started talking with Menchi, who didn't argue with him and they started to work out a new solution. Eventually, all the participants climbed into the blimp and were transported to Mt. Split-In-Half. It upheld its name- a large, rocky mountain with a huge gap in the middle, like some giant had used a sword and chopped the mountain in half.

The participants clambered out of the blimp, worriedly gazing over the edge. Menchi announced that they'd be retrieving dream eggs. Aliara stared over the drop, spying mounds of eggs wrapped in spider web hanging across the cavern. "Fun."

"You're going to fall!" Leorio snapped behind her.

Aliara smirked, and hit the new installation on her wristband. She felt the spikes pop out of her shoes and dig into the ground. "Oh, you mean, like this?" She leaned all the way over. If it wasn't for the spikes holding her in place, she would've fallen.

Killua, being the only one who knew about the spikes and the shoes, simply watched in amusement as Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio all gaped at her. As Leorio started squabbling and yelling at her for being an idiot, Killua watched her expression. Aliara was smirking. She was weird, and a bit difficult to figure out. She kind of confused him. But she was definitely interesting.

She saw him staring again. "What?"

"Nothing! Idiot."

Menchi demonstrated, diving into the gap in the mountain, leaving the participants gaping at her. She returned, climbing up the cliff, with a large egg in her hands. Killua, Gon, and Aliara all shared an excited look before they jumped over the edge, closely followed by Kurapika and Leorio. Aliara fell with her hands crossed over her chest. Several more followed their example. The climb back up was quick and fun. It gave Aliara new ideas for her shoes.

Eventually the eggs were cooked. The crew all bit into their eggs together.

Aliara's eyes widened. "I've had these before," she said excitedly. "These are so good!"

"You've had these?" Kurapika inquired, cocking an eyebrow. "They're really expensive."

The black-haired girl cursed inwardly. "It was a special occasion."

They let the matter drop and enjoyed the eggs. Finishing all of hers before the rest of the group, Aliara pulled off her shoes and started working on them again. Killua rolled his eyes. _Every spare moment goes into those shoes, huh._

End of phase two. Next was phase three.

* * *

 **I read this sushi part in the manga (I have watched the anime as well) and it was so amusing that I had to put it in. If you have never read the manga, I sincerely hoped that you enjoyed that part. I follow the manga as reference to quotations and such, but really, it's almost the same as the anime.**

 **I couldn't NOT put that part in. I'm sorry.**

 **Night Owl:** It's true that her personality does match that element. Hmm. Thanks for the review!

 **Amelia:** Aww, thanks so much! :) :)

 **Shadow12:** You should totally watch Hunter X Hunter. It's a great anime with a great story line and plot. Thanks for the review!

 **Until next time!**


	4. Family

**Chapter Four: Family**

They all boarded the huge hunter examination blimp again. As soon as they got on, Aliara sat herself down at the side and tugged off her shoes again, a new idea already forming in her mind. Killua saw her and shook his head with a smile. _Is that all her free time goes for nowadays?_ "What now?"

"Padding around the edges," she replied swiftly, reaching her hand into her backpack and revealing the discarded soles of her old running shoes that she had saved. "It's difficult to keep my footsteps light, so I need something that'll help me run a bit quieter."

Killua rolled his eyes. "You don't miss much, do you?" He turned his attention back to the front, where the chairman and his assistant stood.

The short green blob man (what the hell was he?) and the chairman both said that they were all free to explore or do whatever they wanted until the blimp reached its next destination, which wasn't for a while. Killua pondered this for a second. _If they were going to do something to us concerning the exam in the middle of the trip, they wouldn't tell us we were free to do whatever we wanted._ "Eh, Gon! Ali!" he called. "Let's explore the blimp!"

"Okay!" Gon cheered. Aliara grinned, jammed her shoes and tools in her bag carelessly, and stood up, before realizing something. "Wait a second. Killua, what did you call me?"

"What, Ali?"

Realizing what he did, Killua cringed. He was almost sure she was going to lunge for his throat.

She blushed. _She blushed!_ "A nickname," she mumbled. "I kinda like it."

Killua burst into laughter. When she eyed him curiously, he snickered, "I could've sworn you were going to try to rip my throat out!" _She's definitely very interesting. Weird._

"I can do that, if you want," she reconsidered.

"No! No, it's fine, let's go."

"No, really, it's not a problem."

"NOPE, you really don't have to. I can do it, if you want."

"Rip your own throat out? Go ahead."

"I meant-"

"Come on guys, stop arguing about who's going to kill who and let's explore!"

The three took off, kind of laughing, Gon in the lead. Aliara giggled to herself. _Ali. Aliara. I don't know, I kind of like the short version._ She shook her head and temporarily forgot about the new nickname. They toured the whole blimp, got kicked out of a couple areas by the staff, and ended up on a bench overlooking the city as it was lit up at the night. All the lights were blinking dots, sparkling like jewels. If she squinted, Aliara could see tiny cars. It was fascinating, the lights twinkling and shining and-

"Hey, Ali, Killua," Gon said, staring down at the view, "do you guys have parents?"

Aliara's blood curdled. _Oh crap._

"Yeah," Killua said with a shrug.

"What do they do?"

"Assassins."

 _He said that so openly!..._

Aliara and Gon faced Killua, who was sitting in the middle of the three. "Both of them?" they chimed together.

Killua looked at them for a second before he burst into laughter. "That's the first time someone's listened and responded seriously!" He lowered his voice as they both smiled at him. "Yeah, at my place, the main activity is assassination. For everyone. And I'm not telling you how much pressure my family puts on me. But I don't like the idea of others telling me what to do with my life."

Aliara's jaw dropped. _I can relate to that so, so, so, so much._

"So I told them, 'I want to decide my own future for myself!' and my mother started crying, telling me I had a gift for this job. Parents like that, horrible."

The black-haired girl sunk down lower in her seat, clenching and loosening her fists. _Horrible? Horrible?! I would be the happiest child alive if my parents told me that._

"To make a long story short, I stabbed my mom in the face and my brother in the side and ran away!" _How messed up is this kid?! Well, I'm not much better._ "I bet they haven't even healed yet!" Killua got really excited, standing up, a wide grin on his face. "If I become a hunter, the first thing I'll do is arrest all my family! I'm certain to get a good reward!" Gon watched him with a funny expression on his face.

Aliara kicked the ground with her shoes. Gon turned to her. "How about you, Aliara? Who are your parents?"

"I don't like to talk about it," she said with gritted teeth.

Killua shrugged. "We won't tell anyone. You can trust us. That's what friends do, right?"

 _Friends._

Aliara turned to Killua and arched an eyebrow. "Where I come from, and I quote, 'there are no such things as friends. Only allies, enemies, and tools or slaves.'"

"Brutal," Killua said with a smirk. "But I take it you're a bit of rebel."

 _Hit the nail on the head. Oops._ _If I can't trust them, who can I trust? I really like being around Gon and Killua._

"Okay," she said with a sigh. "I don't know my dad. My mom is really crazy. It's not the best family."

Killua and Gon both stared at her with wide, adorable eyes. She waited a few seconds, and then sighed. _You still want to know more?!_ "Okay. I've got seven siblings. I'm one of eight."

Gon's eyes widened and Killua gaped at her. "No way! Eight kids? No wonder..." he trailed off before he could say _no wonder nobody really looked at your invention. The shoes.  
_

"And to make things all the more fun," Aliara said, spreading her hands like she was telling a story. "We've all got different fathers!"

Now their jaws really did hit the floor. Aliara giggled.

 _This is good. I haven't revealed too much. They still probably won't guess what family I'm from. Unless they know of... No, they don't. There's no way._

"I've got three younger siblings, two boys and a girl, and four older siblings." Her smile kind of dropped into a frown. "Only one of the older siblings actually appreciates me. Kind of. The others really hate me. And the younger ones? One of the boys has the same father as me, and we get along really well. My younger sister is really sweet, but my family in general..."

She trailed off, gazing back out the windows. "We're all under the iron rule of my mother. She's a tyrant. I hate her."

The more she talked, the more Killua regretted pressuring her. She was frowning now. He kind of liked her smile, and just talking about her family wiped that smile off her face. Killua hated this. He hated hearing her talk about her family, because as much as it made him want to know more, her smile was rapidly fading the more she talked about it. It kind of sounded like she was... an outsider. He _liked_ the rare smile she got when she laughed. And he couldn't believe-

"That's why I hate YOU," she said suddenly, flicking Killua in the forehead.

"Ow! What was that for?" Gon laughed at Killua as he rubbed his forehead.

Aliara frowned. "You said it yourself, ghost boy. Your parents value your position. They think you're talented and great. Me?" She sighed softly. "I'm the reject. The most untalented, worthless one."

 _Should I tell Killua I've been training as an assassin too?_

 _No. Not now._

They didn't press her any more, just stared out into the view. Aliara felt a hand suddenly appear on her shoulder. When she glanced up, Killua was focused on the view, but his hand was clamped on her shoulder. _It's his way of saying he feels bad for me without really saying it, I guess._ Aliara settled her head in her hands and stared down at the twinkling lights, trying to wash the ugly images of her family from her mind.

* * *

Aliara never would've guessed they'd been engaged in a fight for a ball with the chairman of the hunter committee. But they all jumped at the chance to become hunters that quickly. Killua went first.

She was in absolute awe when she saw Killua perform the rhythm echo.

 _I've tried so long, but... I've never been able to._

"Assassins, hmm," she mumbled. _Maybe he could teach me... oh my god, could he?!_

Gon gave it a shot (and ended up hitting his head off the roof) but eventually it was Aliara's turn. She broke into a run at the chairman as soon as Gon was out of the way, thinking of her plan along the way. The chairman moved the ball out of the way, but Aliara kept running right by. Jumping, she hit the spring button for her shoes, and rebounded off the back wall with incredible speed and momentum. Momentarily surprised, the chairman tucked backwards, and Aliara missed the ball by inches. She fell into a roll and got back up.

"You're quite fast," the chairman said. "And you've put a lot of work into those shoes."

Killua's eyebrows jumped. _How'd he know?_

"Really?!" Aliara gasped. "You think I'm fast! And, and the shoes are good?!" She beamed. "Thank you so much."

Killua grinned. _That_ was it. That was the smile he liked.

The hours ticked by. They had tried just about everything. Aliara growled, and felt a bit of blood lust warming inside of her. _Damn, I need to stop soon._ After a near success attack, which had caused Gon to kick off his boots, Killua stopped. "That's it. I give up, I've lost."

Aliara raised her eyebrows. She was about to call it quits too- she was drenched in sweat, but the chairman looked completely fine. Maybe they were more alike than she thought. "Yeah." As Gon started to protest, Aliara shrugged. "He's only been using his left hand-"

"-and his right foot," Killua finished. "We could try for a whole year and never touch the ball." He pulled his t-shirt back over his long sleeved shirt.

Gon decided to stay and play the game a bit longer, claiming he could force the old man to use his other hand or foot. Shrugging, Aliara grabbed her bag a few seconds after Killua left, and then took off out of the room. _Darn that Killua, where'd he go-_

The sudden stench of blood and the disembodied head that rolled to her feet almost made her gag. Almost. She'd seen dead bodies before.

Killua turned around, his hands covered in blood. "Oh." _You weren't supposed to see that. Crap. What if she-_

"Let's go clean up your hands," Aliara said with a sigh, tugging him by the wrist in the direction of a bathroom. Killua's brain spun. _She's not freaked out. She's probably seen dead people before. But right in front of her? Blood everywhere?_

 _What kind of family does she have, to have some sort of crooked upbringing?_

He didn't saw a word as she lead him to a sink and forced him to clean up his hands. She left a second later.

When he went to look for her again, the bodies were gone. "Tucked in a supply closet," she said with a shrug. "Just the bloody floor."

"Thanks," he stammered.

Aliara smiled. "No problem. It's what friends do, right?"

* * *

 **Yes, Aliara. Friends hide the dead bodies for each other.**

 **Night Owl:** Aha, thank you! Well, now you know a bit more. New theories? XD

 **Reviews are appreciated!**


	5. Traps

**Chapter 5: Traps**

"Teach me."

Those were the first words that came out of Aliara's mouth, and she couldn't believe she had actually said it. The pair were sitting on the floor in an empty room, preparing for some rest. The black-haired girl swallowed her pride and faced the white-haired, sarcastic assassin. His eyes widened and he rubbed the back of his head. "Teach you what?"

"The rhythm echo."

Killua looked at her with wide, innocent eyes. _Why the hell would she want to learn that?_ Aliara bit her lip. "I've been trying to learn how to do it, but I... I just can't." She mashed her teeth together, frustrated.

"Wait," Killua said slowly. "You've been learning?..."

"I'm an assassin too," she breathed.

Silence.

Killua leaned forward. _I had no clue. What other secrets does she have?_

"I didn't mention it," she admitted, "because it's supposed to be a family secret." She huffed. "Like I said, I'm the family failure. People tried to teach me rhythm echo, but... but I could never get it."

Killua didn't say anything, thinking for a while, but then he yawned and stood up. Aliara watched him. "Well, come on then," he said. "Can't show you if you're sitting down."

"Yes!" Aliara leaped to her feet.

 _Why didn't she tell us before?_ Killua wondered. _Another assassin, hmm... We have more in common than I thought. Is she actually an assassin? Is she lying? No, I don't think so. I can tell when people are lying. But if she_ is _an assassin, then she could be good at lying and hiding things. Maybe..._

"I'm not lying," she said, crossing her arms.

"Huh?"

"You zoned out," she accused, frowning at him. "I'm not lying. Just because I didn't tell you before, doesn't mean I'm hiding anything." Killua still looked doubtful. Aliara thought for a moment, then she held up her hand, and in one quick swiping motion, slashed her hand across her arm. She did it lightly, but Killua could see a long slash line and blood from the cut, slowly running down her arm. "My fingers are as sharp as knives, if not sharper. I'm sure yours are the same."

Killua didn't say anything. He couldn't say anything. He was completely speechless.

Then, "Idiot! Why would you cut your own arm?!"

"Because you didn't believe me."

"Y- Yes I did! Well, now I do!"

"See, then the slash was worth it."

"I- Idiot! No it wasn't!"

"Well, it didn't even hurt."

"You're _still_ an idiot!"

* * *

When the blimp dropped them off on top of Trick Tower the next morning, it was quite noticeable that both Killua and Aliara were in better moods. Gon noticed but only smiled. _Maybe they did something while I was playing the ball game with the chairman._ They touched down on Trick Tower. But... how did they get down? Aliara, frowning, stalked across the tower top, running her roller skates along the tile lines. It was incredibly smooth. Then something shifted.

She stopped, hit her wristband to revert her shoes back to normal mode, then frowned at the tower roof. Kurapika saw her and watched intently.

"Hmm."

Aliara tapped a foot through on the floor. "Solid." Then she tapped it on another tile. "Shifting."

"What?" Leorio asked, staring at her feet.

"That's how we have to get through," she explained. "Trap doors."

"Hmm," Kurapika said. "That explains why the numbers are slowly dropping."

"Alright, then." Aliara hitched her backpack up higher on her shoulders. "See you guys at the bottom. Try not to die."

"Wait-"

Aliara grinned coyly and stepped on the trapdoor. She slipped down, vanishing from their view. The last expressions she saw were Leorio's panicked face and Killua's smirking face. Two contrasting but equally amusing expressions.

* * *

She touched down on the ground, landing on both feet. The trapdoor flipped shut above her head. The only thing lighting the room was a torch on the far wall. It was a small room with a large metal doorway at the end, with a speaker right above it and a small wristband sitting on a table to the left of the door.

"Welcome, participant," said somebody's voice from the speaker. "You have entered one of the more difficult trails. Please, use your wristband to choose what doors to open and close. Welcome to Trap Trail."

"Trap Trail, eh?" Aliara murmured to herself. She inspected the wristband for traps, and after deciding it was harmless, put the wristband on her left wrist. _Hit the O to open the door and the X to leave it shut._ Rolling her eyes, she hit O. The door creaked open, and a volley of metal spikes shot out like cannon shots at her head.

Aliara instinctively ducked, flattening herself against the floor, then looked up. The whistle of metal flying objects was gone as fast as it came. She gazed at the door. Nobody was there, only several small holes that the spikes had shot out of. "Well, warm welcome," she grumbled, standing up again. From the height of the spikes, they were obviously expecting someone much taller. An adult, most likely. They had all fallen harmlessly to the floor after hitting the wall behind her.

A crazy, maniac grin spread across her face. "Looks like my height'll be handy." She gathered up some of the fallen spikes, jammed them in her bag, and set out into the darkness of the corridors.

There was one thing nagging her. _Should I have left without Killua or Gon? Or even Kurapika and Suit Guy?_

 _I work better on my own. We'd all do better this way._ Aliara shook her head, brushing the thought to the back of her mind, and continued to set out into the tower, trying to choose the right directions to go.

Okay, this trail was really out to get her.

 _Don't step there. That triggers something._

 _That spot too._

 _Don't step there either._

 _A blade is going to fall on your head._

She tapped a panel in front of her with her foot and retreated her foot just as quickly. A large, shiny silver blade fell from the ceiling where her foot was, hitting the ground with a long, screeching _clank_. "This is getting annoying," she grumbled.

Several annoying traps later, she had made a significant decrease in elevation. _I'm about... Halfway there, maybe? No, I have no clue._ She strolled through a doorway and onto a platform that overlooked a large, dark, empty chasm. The only thing she could see was a long, narrow staircase that twisted and turned down the middle of the chamber, connecting to the platform. One wrong step and you fell. _Well, I'm obviously supposed to go down._

One problem. She couldn't see the bottom.

Torches lit up only so much that she could see. Fishing around in her backpack, she pulled out a one of the metal spikes she had collected from the first room of the trail and tossed it.

There was a brilliant red light as a laser from the wall shot the piece of metal as it fell in between the staircases. The sound of laser on metal was loud and it was obvious that the laser would fry human flesh.

"Jumping's not an option," she said with a sigh, rolling her eyes. "And that laser is crazy accurate, if it could pinpoint that thin metal thing. I guess I'd better start."

One crumbling staircase and narrowly dodged blade later, she had made it to a solid floor. But it wasn't ground level, she could tell. Instead, there was a large hatch in the middle of the floor and five people standing on top of it. All five of them had broken shackles sitting on their wrists or at their feet, and were wearing large, dark grey cloaks with huge hoods.

Aliara raised an eyebrow.

"You made it this far," groaned one of the people. The person who spoke removed his hood, revealing a prickly black military cut and a stern face with a scar over one eye. "Congrats. But you're not going any further."

Aliara sighed. She didn't say anything.

"Every hour we keep you down here," one of the others grumbled, removing her hood and revealing cold green eyes and short blonde hair, "is a year off our prison sentence."

"So be prepared for the most painful, grueling sixty seven hours of your life." The third one pulled off his hood. He was bald, with about seven different scars on his face. He was shorter than the rest, and his teeth were yellow and crooked.

The fourth and fifth removed their hoods. One was a girl with messy, crazy lime green hair and pointed teeth and a pointed face. The fifth was a tall, tall muscular man with twenty... no, thirty three lines tattooed on his chest. Aliara sighed and rolled her eyes. _It sounds like they've practiced this over and over._ She pulled her backpack off her shoulders and set it down, preparing to fight.

"What if you kill me?"

"We get all of the hours," snapped green-haired lady. She smiled wickedly. "But it's not as fun."

"And if I kill you?"

The five all exchanged looks before bursting into laughter. "Yeah, right," laughed the stout, scarred one. "As if you cou-"

Aliara narrowed her eyes and dashed past the group so fast they didn't even have time to blink.

In a heartbeat, she was on the other side of the room. Her blue t-shirt had blood sprinkled over the shoulder. And the stout man's head had rolled to the side of the room, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face. It took a second for the realization to settle on the other four prisoners before the dead body toppled over, blood spilling on the floor.

 _Too slow. My brothers are faster._

"Like I said," Aliara repeated, her voice deadly calm, "and if I kill you?"

She flexed her blood covered right hand out to her side.

The blonde lady recovered first. "She killed Ario. Like it was nothing."

The man with the black buzz cut and the long scar over his eye gasped, then his eyes widened. His hands were almost shaking. "There's no way. Ario wouldn't die like that. He-"

"Lukos, get a hold of yourself," snapped the green-haired lady. "She's just a kid."

"Yeah, Marina, a kid who just cut someone's head off in one swipe!" Lukos retorted, his face paling.

"Both of you, shut up." The tall, muscular man crossed his arms. He turned towards Aliara. "I'm Kurt Burdlin. The mass murderer. And this will be where you die."

Aliara sighed. "You still haven't answered my question. I no longer care. You guys done?"

"Kill her," the blonde girl snapped, his eyes filling with rage and fire. "Kill her!"

"Bring it," Aliara whispered, a smile forming on her face.

She hadn't done this in a while. It felt so, so good.

* * *

 **Ooooo fight scene!**

 **Please note that when I mentioned in the first chapter that Aliara was slow, it is because she is one of the slowest in her family. Her freaky, assassination family. All the enemies she is fighting are made up by myself.**

 **Night Owl:** Oh my goodness, you're on to something. I can tell. :D

 **Guest:** Aww, thank you! Some of her siblings know their fathers. Aliara doesn't just yet. Thanks so much for your review! :)

 **Thank you for taking the time to read!**


	6. Blood

**Chapter 6: Blood**

It was all done in a matter of seconds.

The mass murderer- oh, she had already forgotten his name- lunged at her. With a quick side-step, Aliara dashed forwards, completely ignoring and leaving the attacker behind, and sliced the girl with green hair in half across the waist. The mass murderer that had lunged at her ate the ground. _I'm not a stabber, more of a slicer._

"B- Bitch," she gasped before her body fell apart and she crumpled to the ground.

"Her last words were curse words, huh," Aliara said with a sigh.

 _Three more to go._

The other girl aimed a punch at the side of Aliara's face, her own expression twisted in rage, which she caught in her hand. "You think you're strong?" Aliara said, smirking evilly. _Those who use straight up attacks like that normally have confidence in their strength or technique._ "You're really not."

Aliara twisted her hand, twisting the blonde girl's wrist in the process. The blonde's entire body spun with the force. Aliara hoofed her right leg down on the girl's face, and her blonde head made contact with the floor with such force that a loud crack could easily be heard. She was dead, her skull obviously shattered. _Two more._

Lukos, the man with the short, stubbly black hair and scar gulped nervously and backed away quickly. _This girl was strong enough to smash her skull on impact. Who the hell is she?! Why am I scared?! I..._

As Aliara stood up, frowning at the amount of blood she had on her clothes, a hand closed around the back of her throat. "You die, girly," croaked the voice of the mass murderer, his hand tightening on her neck. Aliara felt herself losing breath. If she were normal (like hell she'd ever be normal) she would've been choked to death.

But the man couldn't control his hand anymore. In one clean swipe, Aliara had detached his hand from his arm. "Aaaa... AAAAAAAAA!" he screamed, the pain a new feeling to him, and took some jumbled steps back. His face was wide with panic, shock, and fear, and he started to react, but the raven-haired girl was already on top of him. His head tumbled to the ground before his body did. Blood sprayed the ground and the assassin.

"One more," Aliara whispered to herself. "Geez, I'm a bit rusty!" She turned around, mocking herself and her own skills.

The last man was standing on the trapdoor, shaking visibly. "N- No! You just... You... You killed them... You killed them all!"

"I'm so glad you noticed. You're last," Aliara said with a bored sigh. She pried the large, adult hand off her neck- oh, she was going to have bruises tomorrow- and held up her right hand, which was relaxed but soaked with blood. She tensed her hand up again, and watched the veins pop out. It was strangely satisfying.

He almost screamed. "I- I'll let you go! I promise! T... Truce! Please!"

"Sure."

"R- Really?"

"No."

She walked by him, slashing her hand diagonally, the faintest of smirks on her face. The blood splattered her shirt. The body collapsed to the ground in a loud thump. "Sorry, you won't find any mercy over here," she growled. Aliara kicked the body out of the way, threw open the trap door, and climbed down. It was a ladder that ended in a hallway, lit with torches. Stepping down, she looked down at her shirt. "Damn!" she cursed. "I got blood all over it!"

It was true. Blood was splattered all along the shirt, her arms, and the right side of her face. Aliara sighed, rolled her eyes, and started walking.

More traps. Swinging blades from the ceiling, a pit that opened to a small lake of crocodiles or something (she didn't stick around long enough to find out), plenty more spikes aimed at her head, feet, and body, a puzzle room that took her almost an hour to complete, and one more dead opponent later, Aliara opened the next door, bored but mostly kind of tired.

A large circular room, lined with doors. Hisoka sat against the wall on the left, and he raised his eyebrows at her when she entered. The tall man with dozens of pins sticking out of his face stood at the other wall, craning his neck mechanically at her.

Aliara tensed. _Do I have to fight them?!_

"THIRD ROUND," spouted a mechanical voice. "THIRD ARRIVED: NUMBER 101, ALIARA. TIME USED: THIRTEEN HOURS, FORTY MINUTES."

 _I'm done._

 _I'm done!_

 _YESSSSS!_

Aliara took a step to her right and slumped back against the wall. She wasn't tired, but sleep would be nice.

"Interesting~" hummed the clown at the side.

Aliara's tensed up. She was _not_ something to be looked at.

"Quite the skill you have there," Hisoka said softly. "Quite... bloody." He eyed her shirt.

 _Oh, crap. I'm covered almost head to toe in blood._ "It's not mine," Aliara said calmly, pulling her backpack around to her side.

"Of course." Hisoka tilted his head sideways and looked at her. It was extremely creepy. "Miss Aliara Lorvell is much too talented to do any damage to herself."

Aliara's blood ran cold. Her hands froze.

"You thought I wouldn't notice?" the pink-haired man purred. "Or that anyone else would? Your family and its residents are very well known."

"Never," Aliara spat angrily, losing her cool, "call me by that name again."

"Oh, you mean... Lorvell?"

She was on her feet now. "I do not associate with that family. I've left. They are not my family. They are NOT my family."

"Interesting," Hisoka murmured. "Interesting."

He didn't say anything else.

Aliara sat herself back down, fuming, and somehow managed to fall asleep, using her backpack as a pillow.

* * *

When she woke up, there were over a dozen contestants in the room now, and almost a day has passed.

Aliara sat up, pulled off her shoes, and started to work. A screw tumbled to the ground and the clanging sound in the silence attracted every stare in the room. She grabbed the screw and ignored it. _Forty eight hours to work on these. I'm going to have something new to show Killua. No, it took me about an hour to get the spikes, but that's because I had planned those in advance. I'm going to have at least two or three new things. I don't know how much more I had add._

Contestants filtered into the room, slowly but surely.

It was when the man with the monkey came in that Aliara really did get pissed off.

His name and number was announced (Aliara didn't really care, honestly) but he looked around and said, "I must be getting rusty. The little girl actually made it before me."

"And that's a bad thing, why?" she snapped instantly, not looking up from her project.

"Ah, no reason," he said, smirking. Aliara looked up. "Just... A bit of an insult to my skills. All the blood all over you, must've been quite the struggle-"

In the blink of an eye, Aliara had stood up and made it in front of the man, seized his shirt collar, and physically lifted him into the air. His feet dangled. "I dare you," Aliara snarled, curling her other hand into a fist, "to repeat that."

He only gulped and didn't say a word. The chimp on his shoulder started screeching, only just aware that his master when in danger. "I would be careful if I were you," Hisoka taunted from his side of the room, his voice drawling and teasing, "she was the third one to arrive."

"Shut it, clown boy," Aliara snapped, dropping the man and the monkey and storming back to her spot. Hisoka raised his eyebrows and almost... giggled. Aliara fumed inwardly at the reproachful looks she was getting, flushed red, and hunched herself over her shoes again, fiddling with a wire.

* * *

At the seventy hour mark, Aliara was getting worried.

Killua wasn't here yet. Neither was Gon. Or Kurapika and Leorio.

 _What if they all had trails like mine? Killua would be fine, no doubt. But Gon... he's strong, but isn't an assassin._ Time was winding down. The four minute mark hit, and Aliara found herself grinding her teeth together. _Where the heck are they?_

 _Wait, why do I care?_

"Made... It..." A bloody, beaten man took one step out his door then collapsed. He was dead. Some of the contestants scoffed. Aliara leaned back against the wall. _One minute._

Another door opened.

Killua, Gon, and Kurapika walked out.

Aliara couldn't remember ever being more relieved. "Oh, thank god, you guys are okay." She stood up and ran over, pulling her backpack with her. "What took you so long?" she teased, flicking Killua.

The white-haired assassin rolled his eyes. "Well, we had some team troubles."

"Team?"

"Yeah, we got the 'Path of the Majority' or whatever. We got stuck with Tonpa." Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Blood? What the-"

Aliara ignored him (that, and she was no longer listening) and craned her neck and saw Leorio and Tonpa emerge from behind them. They were all covered in dust. The sight filled her with relief- except for Tonpa, or course.

Gon's eyes widened. "Why are you covered in blood?!"

"Eh?"

She forgot about that.

"What the heck did you do?!" Killua nearly yelled, jabbing a finger at her.

"It's not mine," she argued back. "I had to fight five people, and it got bloody. But I'm completely uninjured." Killua cocked an eyebrow. "Promise."

Gon beamed. "Well, good job, then!"

Aliara grinned back. "Thanks, Gon."

"END OF ROUND TIME," repeated a robotic voice over the speaker. "THIRD ROUND. NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS WHO REACHED GOAL: TWENTY SIX, INCLUDING ONE DEAD."

A door on the far wall creaked open, and sunlight poured into the room. Aliara almost hissed. "Crap, that's bright."

"What, are you a vampire?" Leorio asked, poking her shoulder.

Aliara glared at him. "No! I've just been in the dark for a while!"

"A while? How long have you been here?" Kurapika asked, dusting off his robes.

"Since the thirteen hour mark," she said absentmindedly.

"WHAT?!" cried Leorio.

Killua raised his eyebrows. "Not bad, sunshine."

Her reaction was exactly what he had hoped for. Her shoulders tensed and she glared at him, her glare cold enough to turn water into ice. "Sunshine?! Really, ghost boy?" she snarled, dragging Killua into a choke hold.

"Hey! Hey!" he sputtered, worming his way out. Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio burst into laughter.

As they were all laughing, Killua frowned at her. "I thought you said you weren't hurt."

"I'm not," she replied, raising an eyebrow.

Killua pointed at her neck. "Did someone try to choke you?"

Her hands flew to her neck. "Crap, is it bruising?" She couldn't see, and she sighed. "Someone tried, I guess."

"Did you kill them?"

"Yeah."

He smirked at her childishly. "Not bad, girly."

He ran away again as she swung her backpack out to hit him in fury. Killua dodged, laughing, and they all gathered in the clearing. Still fuming, Aliara half-listened as the short man with the black mohawk explained the fourth phase. He pointed to a distant island, and Aliara followed it with her eyes. _Hmm._ He held out a box, set it on a table, and called up the first person to exit the maze. Hisoka went up first. Then the pin man, who she later learned was Gitturackur.

Aliara hoisted her bag over her shoulder and trotted up after Gitturackur. She fished out a number, but when she turned, everyone had already hidden their tags.

She glanced at the card. _198._

Looks like things were about to get interesting.

* * *

 **Night Owl:** I hope that you enjoyed the fight scene, and the little tidbit about her family. Hisoka knows... XD Thanks for the review!

 **SpiritedSilver:** Ah, thanks so much! I appreciate it! :)

 **Reading1dragon:** It may be a while. I have to keep in mind that they're only 12 years old, frustratingly enough. Thanks for the review! :D

 **Caliope07:** It will, you're so right. Thank you so much for the review! :D

 **Thank you in advance for reviews!~**


	7. Targets

**Chapter 7: Targets**

Aliara saw Gon sitting at the side of the boat and plopped herself down next to him. Killua joined them a second later. "Who'd you get?" he asked.

"Secret," Gon replied. Aliara didn't say a word.

There was a silence before they all turned to each other with silly grins on their faces. "I don't have 405 or 99," Aliara said, grinning. "Don't worry."

"Same here," Killua said. "No 101 or 405."

"I don't have either of yours," Gon added, and they all sighed in relief. Aliara had no idea how she'd be able to hunt down one of her new- and only- friends. "Show on three?" Aliara asked, grinning wildly. The boys nodded. "One, two... three!"

Aliara flipped up her card, 198. Gon showed his, number 44. Killua's was 199.

Aliara made a low whistle. "Gon, you just have plain bad luck."

"That's Hisoka, isn't it?" Killua whispered, staring in awe at Gon's tag.

The young boy nodded feverishly. "Y- Yeah. I've got Hisoka."

"You excited, or scared?" Killua pondered, reading Gon's expression.

The black-haired boy grinned. "Both!"

"I think," Aliara said, rubbing her temples, "that 197, 198, and 199 are the three Amori brothers."

"You know them?!" Killua exclaimed, suddenly interested. "That means our targets will most likely be together."

"I can just take out all three," she said nonchalantly, smiling.

"Oi, I want to take them out!" Killua argued. He lowered his voice, and looked away with a funny expression on his face. "As if you'd be able to, sunshine."

Aliara twitched and whacked Killua over the head. He frowned at her and whacked her back. Growling, Aliara clenched her fingers tightly into her palm and was about to swing again when Gon popped up in between them. "Guys! Let's not fight now, right? We haven't even started the round yet!"

Huffing, Aliara turned away. "Fine."

Killua rolled his eyes. "Fine." He stood up, grabbing his skateboard under his arm. "Good luck. Try not to die."

"Same goes for you, ghost boy," Aliara called out. "You're one of the few people I actually tolerate!"

Gon and Killua sweat-dropped. "Thanks?"

The three split up. Gon was feverish, already deciding his course of action and what needed to be done to steal Hisoka's tag. Killua marched off to who knows where. Aliaraa shuffled to the other side of the boat, and dumped out her bag, ready to put the finishing touches on her shoes and maybe invent something new. A few screws and a few bloody fingers later, the shoes had a rubber siding as to keep her steps quieter as she ran. But, in another burst of idea, Aliara had added another function while waiting for time to pass in Trick Tower.

At the front of the shoe, a thick rod poked out with something like a hook at the end. Aliara practiced retracting and thrusting out the new piece of equipment as she tried to add another button to her wrist watch. The idea had come to her as they were climbing up the rock face after grabbing the dream eggs. Sometimes, the surface couldn't be grabbed, but with these picks, she could hold on.

She had barely finished the rewiring when the boat arrived at the weirdly shaped island. _If I have to, I can just take out all three of the brothers._ Hisoka ventured off to face the dangers of the island. _But first, I need to wipe this blood off. I can find a river or something._

"Alright, contestant number three!" the cheery lady called excitedly, trying to boost the energy levels. Sighing, Aliara strolled off the small dock and into the woods, waiting until she was out of sight before she jumped up into a tree.

Climbing to the very top, Aliara saw how big the island really was.

Large cliffs lined one side of the island, but the most part, it was covered in trees, trees, and more trees. In some areas, the space opened up to reveal large, grassy meadows, but the areas were never that big. The black-haired girl spotted a river nearby and hopped out of the tree, running to the river.

How much time had passed now? Two minutes? Five? Not much, that was for sure. She sought out the water and as soon as she was there (and she knew nobody else was around) she stripped off her shirt and started washing her face.

Only later did she realize that wringing out her shirt was not going to remove the blood stains. _I've got no experience with washing things, dammit._ Aliara cursed, then did the best to get all the blood off her face. She looked down at her chest- her black sports bra was free of blood, thank god (there was no way she was taking that off. God's sake, she's a girl! Barely developed, but still a girl!) and she flapped her shirt out, trying to get it to dry.

The water was extremely refreshing. It took a while, but eventually, Aliara had no blood on her face and a semi-soaked dark blue t-shirt that was covered in blood.

There was a rustling in the bushes behind her, and Aliara leaped upwards, jumping into the safety of a tree. Gon emerged from the bushes, fishing rod in his hand. _Did I really take that long?! Holy crap! I have to go._

Hopping through tree branches, Aliara left her shoes on neutral. She knew she had a lot of time, but the sooner she got her target's badge, the better. _Hmm. Where the hell could the Amori brothers be?_

That was when she heard footsteps below her.

She looked down, poking her head out of the cover of the leaves. It was a stout man with long grey hair, a big nose, and blue robes, carrying a long sword. He was glancing around nervously. "No harm in asking, I suppose," she mumbled.

With one step, Aliara had silently leaped and dashed down from the tree and was standing a good few feet in front of the man. "Excuse me?"

"AAAAAAA!" the man screeched, letting out a high-pitched wail of terror, jumping back and holding up his sword. "I- I'll fight you! Oh. It's... a little girl."

Aliara twitched in annoyance. "Call me that again, and I'll kill you, got it? I just want information."

The man made a nervous laugh. "You, kill me? You don't have a weapon."

Aliara dashed forwards as soon as he finished his sentence and held her hand up to his throat like a blade. A single drop of blood leaked down his neck as she tapped it with her hand. "I don't need one."

The man gulped nervously, hands trembling on the sword. "Perfect," Aliara declared, stepping backwards so she stood in front of him again. "Now, do you know the general direction that the Amori brothers went?"

"The... the Amori brothers?" he whispered. "W- Why?"

Aliara rolled her eyes, deciding to humor him. "If I want three points, I'll just kill all three of them. Now, do you know where they are?"

The man's eyes went white and he looked like he was going to pass out. _Maybe I went too far._ "They, uh, they, uh-"

"Coherent sentences, please."

"Well, uh, I got off after they did, the boat, I mean, but, uh-"

"Aaaaaaaany day now."

"THEYALLGROUPEDUPANDTWOLEFTBUTONEWASWAITINGFORSOMEONEELSETOGETOFFTHEBOATTHAT'SALLIKNOW-"

"Are you even fluent in the English language?" Aliara snapped, losing her patience. "If you don't tell me anything useful..." she raised her hand and watched the veins pulse.

The man paled even more (if that was possible) and cried, "I swear, that's all I know! One of them waited to track someone that was still on board and the other two headed to the center of the island! I-"

"That's fine, thank you." Aliara nodded at the man, leaping back up into the trees. _Center of the island, center of the island..._

The man fell back on his rear end and gazed at the tree she had jumped into. "Who the hell," he stammered, "is she?"

He never would find out, because Hisoka would kill him in the next few days.

* * *

The first day came and went, and Aliara's search ended up fruitless.

She hunted at night, she hunted during the day. No luck. She had passed a few other participants but ignored them. She passed over Hisoka at one point and did everything in her power to go the other way.

Taking other people's badges that weren't her target would surely screw with people. Not that she minded. But it also meant she would have more people after her for tags, and that was something she would prefer to avoid, especially if those people were Hisoka.

It was the third day, when she strayed closer to the darker forest sector of the island, that she finally spotted them.

From what she could remember, the three brothers were exceptionally skilled in teamwork. Two of them were walking along the forest floor underneath her, completely oblivious to Aliara's presence. She smirked. One was the biggest of the three, stockily built and hulking, wearing a large yellow shirt. The other was tall and skinny, in a red shirt and orange hat. _What tags are they?_ Aliara mused. _I need 198. There's a 67% chance that it's one of them. But if not, then I've got Killua's tag, and I'm spoiling the fun for him._

She focused again, and followed. The two brothers continued on for a while, but when they reached a grassy area and looked around to make sure nobody was watching (they did a crappy job of it) Aliara saw that they were pointing into the forest and laughing. "The two we got were two easy," the tall one chortled. "You think Imori's got his target yet?"

"No doubt," the hulking one said, chuckling. "He's after the little kid, don't forget. Not the girl, or the black-haired boy with the fishing rod, the white-haired one."

"Right," the tall one replied, grinning. "It's a good thing he memorized all the tags at the very start."

 _He's after Killua!_ _Oh, Killua'll be happy. He's been itching to fight someone for a while. There's no way he'd let some skinny dude take him out._

She shook her head. _Don't underestimate them._

"Oi, I think I see him," the large brother said, pointing out into the forest. "Let's go get him."

The two wandered off, footsteps loud and confident. There was a bit of rustling to Aliara's right from the ground level, so quiet and inaudible that she barely caught it. _Someone else is stalking them too._ The raven-haired girl rolled her eyes and took off after the two brothers.

When she saw them again, they were standing behind the third brother. He was obviously the shortest one, with a light blue sweater. He was facing Killua, who had a bored and innocent expression on his face. Aliara knew he'd want to handle this by himself, but she really wanted to take the tag from him herself.

The shortest brother hoofed Killua in the stomach. _Probably didn't hurt. Let's see..._

Thinking of something on the spot, Aliara hopped down from the tree casually and landed behind the largest brother, the one in the yellow shirt. "Excuse me," Aliara started.

The three brothers leaped in surprise and backed up. "Where'd you come from?" the yellow-shirted one snapped, angrily glaring at her.

"One of you three is my target," she said, ignoring his question. "I have no clue what one. Just hand over the tag."

"N- No way!" he yelled angrily. "Where the hell'd you come from?"

"I've been following you for a while," Aliara said with a sigh. "You guys were too dumb to notice. Now hand over your tags or I can and will kill you."

The man in the red shirt narrowed his eyes. "Let's get into position. This one's different." They all circled her, not taking their eyes off their target, until Aliara smirked and pointed in the direction Killua had been kicked. "I'm not the only one. He's different too."

All three swiveled their heads to stare at Killua. "Ali," Killua called, "you were 198, right?" He held up the tag with the bold numbers printed right on it. The youngest Amori brother gasped and started searching himself, wondering how Killua could've possibly taken his tag. His brothers gaped in surprise.

"Yep," she said, smiling. "Thanks, Killua."

"Who said I'm giving it to you?" he snapped back, a smirk toying at his lips. "I can just keep this one."

Aliara rolled her eyes. "A trade, then."

"Sure. But I call the last one, got it?"

"Fine, fine."

"Oi," one of the brothers called out, regaining his senses. "What do you-"

She and Killua understood each other. Aliara dashed up the side of a nearby tree trunk and pushed off of it, her shoes still on their neutral stage, and lunged at the largest Amori brother. Her right arm collided with the back of his neck, and she hooked it, pulling him straight down to the dirt with her. He landed and got a face full of dirt while Aliara landed on her feet.

"Let's see," she hummed, rummaging through his pockets. To his credit, the Amori brother remained perfectly still. "Oh, two tags. 89 and 199." She stood up, backing away, as her target started coughing and struggling to his feet. "199 is yours, right? 89 was your target."

He nodded slowly. "Perfect!" Aliara cheered, grinning. "Killua, trade time."

"Fine," the white-haired assassin replied, rolling his eyes at her cheery tone. He zoomed as fast as lightning over to the last brother, kicked him in the back of his knees, and raised a hand to his throat. "Where's your tag?"

Silently, Killua's victim pulled out his tag, 197. Killua smirked, grabbed the tag, and walked over to Aliara, who was holding out the 199 tag. "Nice one," she complimented, holding out the tag that Killua wanted.

"You too," he replied. They traded tags, and Aliara stared at the 198 tag with a smile on her face. "Want to toss the last two?"

"Sure, we don't need them." Aliara held up the number 89 tag. "They can run after them if they want."

They tapped their tags together, almost like they were toasting something. But Aliara and Killua were both thinking the same thing. With speed so fast that Aliara almost couldn't believe it had happened, they switched numbers. Aliara pivoted and hurled the 197 tag and far as she could. It made a whistling sound and vanished into the tree line. Killua had done the same.

The two assassins turned and faced each other. Grinning, Killua turned and faced the three distraught and confused brothers. "Thanks! See you guys later!"

Aliara dashed up into a tree and started moving, making distance between herself and the three brothers. Killua was doing the same, on a set of trees not too far from hers. They both touched down on the ground five minutes later, successfully covering a huge area.

"We did it," Aliara said happily, flipping the 198 tag over and over in her hand.

Killua returned her smile, noting that she was acting happier than she had been in a while. "Yeah," he responded. "You noticed the guy watching us too?"

"Yep," Aliara said with a nod. "He was really good, though."

"Yeah," Killua said, nodding.

Aliara frowned and flicked him in the forehead. "You're such a downer. Come on, lighten up, ghost boy! We just passed the second last stage!"

Her enthusiasm surprised Killua. He had never seen her so... energetic and excited about something. But her enthusiasm was contagious. He returned her adorable smile with one of his own. "I know we did!"

"We're so close to being hunters," she said dreamily, staring up at the clouds. Aliara sat down in the grass, smiling. Killua sat down next to her.

"Aliara," he asked, "you never told us why you wanted to be a hunter."

Her expression clouded over, and Killua mentally slapped himself. _I've ruined her good mood. And she's never in a good mood!_

"I don't know," she hummed, staring at Killua. He stared back. "I guess... I guess I just want freedom."

Killua smiled. "Nothing wrong with that."

Aliara blushed, and then smiled back. Things were looking up.

* * *

 **Longest chapter so far! Hope you guys enjoyed!~**

 **Night Owl:** Questions with no answers... yet. Thanks for the review!~

 **Reading1Dragon:** Aww thank you so so much for your kind words! Thank you! :D

 **Person:** Aha, thank you very much! :)


	8. Stubbornness

**Chapter 8: Stubbornness**

The next few days were some of the best that Aliara had experienced in a while.

She and Killua trained and enjoyed themselves during the next few days. Training, playing, enjoying the joys of being an energetic child. They did all of that. Aliara continued to fine tune her shoes, but her supplies were becoming more and more limited. She felt happy, excited, playful, and free. Stress free! They had run into another contestant at one point, but they both evaded him with almost no difficulty. He ended up being after Aliara's tag, but somebody else killed him before she had to. Eventually, the last day rolled around, and both Aliara and Killua agreed to head back to the starting point.

As quiet as mice, they approached. Nobody was gathered yet, so they remained hidden in the bushes. _Is Gon alright?_ Aliara couldn't help but wonder.

Then, a loud voice beckoned all the participants to the front, claiming that stage 4 was over. Smirking, Aliara hopped out of the bushes after Killua, trotting to the front. Gon emerged as well, holding up both his tags. "Gon!" Aliara called. "You're okay!"

"You got Hisoka's tag?" Killua asked, impressed. "Nice one."

Gon flashed a large thumbs up and grinned widely, much resembling a happy puppy. "You guys both got your tags, right?"

Killua held up his tags and Aliara did the same. The three shared a high five before the blimp came down to pick them all up. _One more stage left. Just one more. I can do this._

Aliara found an empty room and huffed, sliding back against the wall. "Final stage, here we go."

"You nervous?" Killua taunted, sliding down against the wall next to her.

"You wish, ghost boy," Aliara said, sticking her tongue out at Killua.

Killua glared at her. "Don't call me that, girly."

She was about to object when a loud voice rang over the speaker system. "In a while, the president will receive you for a conversation," said someone loudly. Killua and Aliara both stopped to listen. "When you're called, please come to the reception room of the first floor. Candidate number forty-four. We ask that you please come to the reception room." Aliara groaned.

"People skills," she huffed, "is something I don't have."

Killua smirked at her. "Considering you try to punch anyone who says something you don't like, I agree."

"Can it, ghost boy."

"See what I mean?"

The two bickered for another minute, which eventually ended with the two laughing, when the speaker buzzed again. "Number fifty-three, please come to the reception room on the first floor."

Aliara's eyes lit up as she thought of an idea. "Say, after whatever this is, can you keep teaching me rhythm echo?"

Killua shrugged. "I don't know, you're an annoying student." She punched him in the shoulder. "That, and you've almost got it. I'm not that good a teacher, anyways."

"You're better than the ones who trained me," she countered. "You don't-"

"Candidate number ninety-nine, please report to the reception room."

Killua sighed, standing up. "Alright, I'm up."

"I'll be right after you, so I'll go too," Aliara said, hopping to her feet and grabbing her backpack.

Killua's face blanked. "How do you know that?"

"I'm number 101. They're going in number order."

"...I knew that."

"You so did not."

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"I've got to go," Killua interjected, dashing out of the room. Aliara frowned and chased after him, trying to hold down her smirk. Killua ducked into the reception room before she could tell him anything, ready for his conversation with the chairman. Rolling her eyes, Aliara plunked herself down on a bench across from the door to the room. _He shouldn't be more than a few minutes, based on the speed of the calls._

She wasn't wrong. Killua emerged a minute later, skateboard gripped under his arm. "You're up."

Aliara rolled her eyes and entered the room, shutting the door behind her. The chairman was sitting behind a low table near the back of the room, watching her intently. "Please, have a seat," he instructed, gesturing to the spot in front of him. In one hand, he clutched a clip board. His other hand stroked his beard thoughtfully. Aliara sat.

"Three questions for you," he began.

"Hold it," Aliara interjected. "Is this the last stage? Or related to it?"

"Related to it, yes," he responded, watching her carefully, the ghost of a smile playing on his face.

"I'm not good with people," she explained uneasily, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

The president chuckled. "No worries. Just answer the three questions I have for you to the best of your knowledge, okay?" Aliara nodded. "Why do you want to be a hunter?"

Aliara shrugged casually. _Lying's not going to help me here._ "Well, primarily, I want to avoid my family at all costs, and it's much easier to do with a hunter's license. There's a lot of benefits."

To her relief, the chairman didn't ask her any more about that topic. "Out of all the remaining contestants, who retains the most of your attention?"

"99 and 405," she replied without missing a beat. "They're both interesting people with interesting abilities, and I probably wouldn't be enjoying myself as much as I am now without the two of them."

"Interesting," he hummed. "And who do you want to fight the least?"

That question required a bit more thought. "Probably the same people," Aliara admitted, lacing her fingers. "I just made some friends and I'd hate to fight them seriously." Her throat dried up.

"That's everything," the chairman said cheerily.

Aliara blinked. "Really? It is?"

"Yup! You're free to go."

The raven-haired girl grinned and eagerly made her way for the door. Closing it behind her, she heard the call for the next contestant over the speaker system. To her delight, Killua had waited for her. "Ready to practice?"

"Yep!" Without any mentions of the conversations with the chairman, the two took off back to the empty room that they had started in.

* * *

Three days passed of flying in the large blimp. During that time, Killua, Gon, and Aliara had explored almost every inch of the ship. They had trained, too. But in the middle of a training session with Killua, the blimp landed and they were called down. Frustrated with herself for making almost no progress, Aliara ground her teeth together and made her way to a large room, where the chairman stood in front of a covered board. The rest of the contestants were already gathered. Aliara frowned at nobody in particular.

"Here's the deal," the president said. "If you win, you become a Hunter."

There was a pause, then he continued. "The last trial will be in forms of 1 on 1 duels. The groups are as follows." He pulled off the sheet covering the board.

Aliara's eyes widened.

She had to fight number 405- Leorio.

Her blood boiled. _I mean... He hasn't exactly been overly kind to me, but I still don't want to fight him!_ She sighed in relief- Killua and Gon were on the second half of the board. At least she didn't have to fight them. _But... Leorio is good friends with Gon, and Killua from the looks of it. Even Kurapika. I don't want to fight any of them. They're my first friends, and... I don't want to ruin that._

"One victory," the chairman declared, holding one old finger up in the air, "and you pass the exam."

Silence, as everyone absorbed this information.

"In other words, winners quit the game one by one. The point of the pyramid is the designate the loser, not the winner. Do you understand?"

"So only one person will be eliminated?" asked the bald man in the black ninja suit. How he could have made it this far, Aliara had no clue.

The chairman nodded. "Exactly. Every person has at least two chances to win. Any questions?"

Aliara had millions. But before she could summon the courage to speak in front of a dozen tough people, the martial artist spoke up. "Why isn't the pyramid evenly balanced?"

"Logical question," the chairman agreed. "The groups were chosen based on your results from previous rounds. Basically, the ones who got good marks up until now have a better chance of passing."

Aliara frowned, and started counting. She and Leorio both had three chances. So did Killua. Gon had... Gon had five?! She huffed. _No fair._ "I don't like it," Killua called from her left. She rolled her eyes. "Explain to us how you counted the points."

The raven-haired girl sighed. It wasn't like it would make a difference, because there was no way the president would change it now. Instead, she started looking at her opponents. After Leorio, she would face either Hisoka, Kurapika, or the martial artist. She frowned- she didn't like either of the three. And there was no way Leorio could last against any of them either.

 _Wait, what?! I can beat Leorio!_

 _But it's not a matter of if I can,_ she thought with a sigh. _Just a matter of the fact that I... I don't want to. Because his chances will decrease after that. Dammit! Do I actually care what happens to the Suit Bastard?_

Someone tapped her on the shoulder. She whirled around. It was Gon. "You okay, Ali?" he asked quietly.

"What? Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine."

Normally, people like Killua wouldn't have believed her for a second. But this was Gon. He beamed. "Okay! As long as you're ready!"

His friendly attitude made Aliara smile. She hoped Gon become a hunter, above anything. He waved at her and walked to the center of the room. Why- oh, he was about to fight. Hanzo? The ninja man? She wasn't sure how well he'd do.

Aliara chose to stand over next to Killua, who was evidently frustrated about his placing. "Lighten up," she said, poking his shoulder. "We both have three chances."

"Yeah... But..."

"What, you think you should be better than me and Gon? Don't worry about it. Your skill is definitely going to make you a hunter."

The white-haired boy grumbled and jammed his hands in his pockets. Aliara tossed her backpack off her shoulders and threw it to the wall, relieving herself of the extra weight. She watched and cringed as Gon was stopped by Hanzo with a lightning fast chop to the back of the neck. She glanced at Killua, whose gaze was darkening. She could tell what he was thinking.

"Idiot." Aliara whacked him on the head.

He frowned at her. "What was that for?"

"I know what you're thinking," she snapped back. "Stop thinking about what you could've done, and cheer for Gon, okay? I'm sure he'd appreciate that more."

Killua's eyes widened. _For someone who's not good with people, she's certainly got an idea about what friendships should look like._

"Don't look at me like that."

"Hey! Don't hit me!"

The brutal, one-sided match went on for three hours. Gon was enduring endless pain from Hanzo, who obviously outmatched him in skill and strength. Wincing, Aliara wanted to look away. _Imagine how I would feel if I was losing and my only friends had looked away. No way, I'm going to keep watching._

"To acquire the special art of the Shinobi, I've received special training since the day I was born," Hanzo was saying, doing a hand stand on his fingers. "During eight years, I've built up strong muscularity and I improved my techniques. By your age, I'd already killed."

"Nothing to be proud of," Killua and Aliara grumbled in unison, before staring at each other and making silly grins.

"In this fight," the ninja continued, balancing on one finger, "you can't win against me. I don't say this to make you mad. Say only that you lose."

In a surprising twist, Gon stood up and kicked Hanzo. Aliara smiled, almost cheering out for her friend. He still had so much fight left in him. "I let you kick me," Hanzo grumbled, blood sliding down from his nose.

Aliara wanted to scream at him, but Leorio beat her. "LIAR!" _How the heck am I supposed to fight him?_

When Hanzo pulled out a blade and threatened to cut off one of Gon's legs, Aliara clenched her fists repeatedly. _Gon's way too stubborn to give up. He's going to die- of stubbornness and blood loss._

"That's not good," Gon mumbled. "I don't want to lose, but I don't want you to cut off my leg. Let's fight a different way."

"DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION?!" Hanzo roared, steam pouring from his ears. The other participants started chuckling, and Aliara couldn't help but smile. This naive kid still brought smiles to everyone's faces.

Aliara tried to control her thoughts. _I want to be a hunter. But I don't want to fight Leorio. He counts as a friend, I guess, which is more than most other people. If I give up, I've got two more chances. But I don't like the odds of who I'll go up against._ If there were wires in her brain, they probably would've snapped. _What the hell do I do?!_

"I've lost."

 _What the hell did I miss?!_

Hanzo withdrew his blade. "I can't kill him or find a way to make him admit defeat. I've lost."

Aliara was about to cheer for Gon (silently, of course) when the stubborn black-haired boy yelled out, "No, that's not possible! Let's find a way to continue this fight!"

The black-haired inventor smacked herself on the forehead. Her new friend could be such an idiot sometimes. But Hanzo knocked him out, and Gon was declared the winner. He was a hunter. _Killua and I will be next,_ she thought in determination. _Just you wait._ As Gon was carried off to the infirmary, Aliara tensed. Hisoka and Kurapika were next. But the battle went nowhere near as long as Gon's and Hanzo's. The fight went with no serious injuries until Hisoka leaned in and whispered something into Kurapika's ear. The blond boy froze, and Hisoka walked off, announcing that he quit. Kurapika was a hunter. _Hisoka or Bodoro. Hisoka or Bodoro. If I lose, I face Hisoka or Bodoro._

"Leorio and Aliara," announced the referee.

Killua didn't offer any words of encouragement. Aliara didn't blame him. She made her way to the center of the room and faced the tall, black-haired nuisance. Leorio pulled out a small knife.

"I can't say I'm thrilled to fight you," Leorio admitted. "Beating up a little girl isn't really my thing."

Aliara's temper bloomed. Killua smirked, waiting for her to lunge at Leorio. Aliara was going to be a hunter, and win this match, he was sure.

 _He reminds me so much of my god damned brother._

"I lose."

...

"HUH?!"

* * *

 **Night Owl:** Thank you so so much! :)

 **Reading1dragon:** Thank you so so so much! I loved your review! :D


	9. Loss

**Chapter 9: Loss**

"HUH?!"

Aliara strode off the battlefield, hands crossed over her chest. "I surrender, I quit, whatever you want me to say," she said in a bored tone before going to stand next to Killua. The white-haired assassin stared at her in disbelief. Out of all the people here, he hadn't expected her to do something like that so immediately.

"W- Wait," Leorio stammered. His knife shook in his hand. "You... You can't quit that easily! We haven't fought!"

"I said that I lose." Aliara turned to face the chairman. "Leorio wins then, correct?"

He nodded, not seeming to be very surprised. "Of course. The next match is Pokkle and Hanzo."

"Why the hell," Killua whispered, "would you do that?"

She shrugged. "I didn't want to fight him."

"That's it," he deadpanned, narrowing his eyes. "You just didn't want to fight him."

Aliara shrugged. "Yeah."

He shook his head. "I will never understand you."

"I don't plan on letting you," she mused, and Killua grinned at her.

The next match between Pokkle and Hanzo was again, very one-sided. Hanzo won very quickly. Pokkle wasn't even half as stubborn as Gon was, and admitted defeat pretty quickly upon having his arm twisted behind his back. Next was Hisoka and Bodoro, which would decide who Aliara would fight. They both put up a fight, and Bodoro would not admit defeat, until he was beaten down and Hisoka whispered something into his ear. Bodoro conceded. Aliara would be fighting the martial artist. She frowned. _He looks half dead. Why would I want to fight anyone who can't do anything? How fair is that?_

"Killua and Pokkle," called the announcer.

Killua literally took two steps on the floor before saying, "I lose. Sorry, I'm just not interested in fighting you."

Everyone shook their heads at him in disbelief. "Sorry," Aliara whispered to him as he got back, "it's not as cool the second time someone does it." Killua frowned at her, eyebrow twitching in irritation, then started smirking. Aliara grinned back.

"Bodoro and Aliara," called the referee.

"Can we wait?" Aliara called. "He's still resting. Hisoka beat him up pretty bad." She sent an accusatory glare at the joker but he rolled his eyes and licked his lips creepily. "I don't want to fight him like that."

The ref seemed surprised. "Of course. Then we'll have Killua and Gitturackur."

"Now," Killua groaned, "everything thinks you're all cute and innocent and sweet. They couldn't be more wrong."

Aliara punched him in the shoulder. "Go out and win, ghost boy."

He smiled at her and made his way across from Gitturackur. The referee declared the fight to begin, but before Killua could make a move, the man started pulling out all the weird pins that protruded from his body. Puzzled, Aliara watched his features deform and shape into a blank-faced, adult man with long dark hair.

She didn't recognize him, but Killua did. "Illumi," he gasped. "My... My brother."

Aliara's jaw dropped. No way was this clown his brother.

The silence that followed was eerie and tense. Killua's brother, Illumi, spoke up. "Mom and Miluki say you've hit them."

Killua shrugged, although Aliara saw his shoulders tensing. "You could say it like that."

"Mom was crying," Illumi continued, his voice cold and quiet.

"Obviously," Leorio grumbled loudly. "A mother that suffers like that from her own son-"

"Tears of joy."

"WHAAAA?!" Leorio cried. Aliara almost laughed. So Killua hadn't been joking when he said he stabbed his family and ran. She watched as Illumi taunted Killua, telling him that his mother feared he would be a hunter. It was only a coincidence, apparently, that Illumi had run into Killua here. Aliara bit her lip and tried to control her temper. Family reunions never went well in her family, maybe it was the same for Killua, from the sound of it.

It was what Illumi said next that made Aliara want to jump out and strangle him. "Your vocation is to be a killer."

Killua was tense, incredibly so. Aliara dug her nails so hard into her palms she was sure they were going to bleed. "You're just a puppet," Illumi continued. Killua took a step back. "Passionless. Inside you, you have no passion, no desire. You feed yourself with shadow, and the only pleasure you can feel comes from the deaths of other people."

"It's not true," Aliara mumbled under her breath. She shook her head. _Now is not the time to be cautious and have people phobia!_ "It's not true!" she snapped, much louder. "Killua, don't listen to him."

"You're just as we taught you, Father and I," Illumi continued, aggravating Aliara to no end. "What were you expecting in becoming a hunter?"

"It's not that I wanted to become a hunter that lead me here," the white-haired boy grumbled, scuffing his shoe on the ground, beads of sweat pouring down his face. "There's something I want-"

"No, there's nothing," Illumi interrupted.

She had had enough. "You can't decide that for him, you... you pale-faced bastard!" Aliara yelled suddenly, stepping forwards. The other contestants looked at her in surprise. Illumi, to her everlasting annoyance, ignored her again.

Killua bit his lip. "There is something!"

"Then tell it to me," his older brother scoffed, raising a hand. "What would you want?"

Killua went silent. Aliara mashed her teeth together angrily.

"There's nothing, is there?"

"No!" he barked, throwing out one of his hands. "I want... I want to be friends with Gon and Aliara."

There was a pause as that sunk in. Aliara's hands went limp. Her eyes widened. _He... What?_

"I'm fed up with killing." Killua's head tipped down to the floor. "I just want to be friends with Ali and Gon. I want to have fun, like a normal kid." Aliara's mouth fell open just a bit as she gaped at Killua. _He wants to be friends. He wants to be normal._

 _I didn't realize how similar our goals were._

"That's impossible," Illumi jeered, and Aliara started thinking of multiple ways to kill that sorry bastard, all of them getting more painful and bloody as she went on. "You can't make people be your friends. The only judgement you're able to pass on a human is to know if you can kill him or not. Because that's what we taught you.

"You're just amazed by Gon and Aliara," Illumi continued, talking a step towards Killua. "And you don't know how to process them. That's all there is to it."

"That's false," Killua retorted quietly.

Illumi ignored him. "If you stay friends with those two, one day, you're going to end up killing them." Aliara's blood ran cold. "Because you're a natural born killer."

"No," Aliara whispered.

Leorio took a step forwards. "Oi, Killua! I don't care who he is! He doesn't understand anything at all! He's a dumbass! You want to be friends with Gon and Aliara? Don't fall asleep and just do your thing and win!"

"Killua," Aliara called out, watching for any sign of emotion on his face. "Killua, you have nothing to worry about."

The white-haired boy's head tipped up to face her.

"We're already friends," she emphasized, trying to smile. "We already are. I'm sure Gon would say the same."

Pause. Aliara inhaled sharply.

"Really?" Illumi pondered aloud.

"Of course, you idiot!" Leorio hissed, stomping his foot on the ground. Kurapika didn't even try to calm him down.

Illumi's mouth tipped down in a frown. "That bothers me. If she already thinks they're all friends... I know," he resolved, holding a finger in the air. "I'll just kill them both."

Killua's eyes widened and his face went white. Aliara tightened her fists. Sweat dripped down the side of her face. "Bring it," she scowled, holding up her hands in front of her, temporarily forgetting where she was and what she was here for. Kurapika and Hanzo both took a step back, on guard.

Illumi took a step in her direction. Aliara felt pressure, like it was trying to hold her down. She felt scared, something she hadn't felt in a while, and she lowered herself down in her stance, glaring at him. "Excuse me," one of the officials interrupted, "the match isn't-"

He casually tossed three pins at the man's face, and Aliara watched it bulge oddly. His face resembled something from a nightmare. The man gasped and fell back. "Thank you," Illumi said quietly, closing the distance off.

"No," Killua said quietly, his voice strangled. "No-"

Kurapika and Leorio each took a step in front of Aliara. Any other day, she might've complained, saying she could fight her own battles, but the support was welcomed and at the moment the pressure she was feeling might've been enough to make her back down. No, it wouldn't have.

Suddenly, Illumi stopped and thought. "Darn it. I need that license, but if I kill anyone, Killua automatically wins." He frowned. "I know. I'll beat Killua, then I'll kill them."

Aliara looked at her friend. Killua's face was drenched in sweat, and she could almost see him shaking. To see Killua, someone she admired for his strength, tremble so much, Aliara wanted to stab Illumi right then and there- three times in the right arm, twice in the left, once in the face, and repeatedly to the gut.

"Hear that, Killua?" Illumi asked quietly. "If you don't win against me, you won't be able to save Gon and Aliara."

"Killua," Aliara heard herself say, "beat the hell out of him!"

"Can you fight for friendship?" the dark-haired man mused. "No, you can't. But that doesn't matter right now- what matters is if you can defeat me or not. You already have the answer. You know you don't have as much strength as me. 'Don't fight someone you can't beat'. I taught you that."

Killua shuffled slightly and Illumi said, "If you move, I'll take that to mean the fight has begun. If our bodies touch, I'll believe that the fight has begun." Illumi shuffled closer and closer to Killua, his hand moving achingly slowly at his forehead. Aliara was doing everything in her power to stop herself from strangling Illumi and boiling him in hot water and feeding him to the wolves.

"Don't forget. If you don't confront me, your friend Gon will die."

"Go on, Killua!" Leorio screeched like an angry monkey. "Whatever happens, we won't let anyone get killed, not Gon, not you! Whatever he does, we'll stop him! Do what you want to do!"

Aliara tensed. She was worried for Killua.

"I lose."

The words came out of Killua's mouth made Aliara feel like a knife had plunged into her heart.

Then Illumi laughed. "Ha! I was lying to you, brother! I have no intention of killing Gon or Aliara. I only wanted to test you. Now I have what I wanted."

Aliara's head spun. _What just happened?_

"You don't have the qualifications to make friends," Illumi said, squatting down next to Killua, who looked upset, frustrated, and confused all at once. "More so, you don't need any."

The silence that followed made Aliara want to sob, kill Illumi, and just take out her anger on absolutely everyone right then and there.

Killua took slow, morbid steps away from Illumi. He went to the far wall near the door and slumped down against the wall. Aliara glared at the chairman- dammit, why did her match have to be next?- and said fiercely, "Two minutes," before she raced past Kurapika, Leorio, and everyone else and over to Killua, who was squatting with his back to the wall and his face tucked into his arms. The stares of the other participants followed her.

"Killua," she whispered. "Are you okay?"

He didn't say a word.

"Killua," she repeated.

Silence.

"Killua," she said again. "I don't care if you think you're not capable of having friends." More silence. "Gon and I are already your friends. This changes nothing. I promise. And... friends don't break promises, right?"

Still he ignored her. Aliara held back what she thought would be a strangled sob and she leaned down to Killua, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "Oh my god, Killua," she whispered, her hands all the way at his back. She felt him shift, but that was it. Gritting her teeth, she stood up. "I'll fight Bodoro and win. And then you can fight him after and you can win too, and then we'll all be hunters. Okay?"

Aliara sensed Killua's blood lust building up but she turned away, glaring at anyone who was staring at her. "I'm ready to go," she announced angrily, her temper higher than she thought it had ever been, stomping into the center of the room. She turned, so she was facing Killua. Bodoro achingly stood up and started stretching, thanking Aliara for the extra time to rest. Aliara ignored him. She felt her own blood lust swelling up in her head, and she wanted to tear Illumi apart, limb to limb.

The ref called, "Begin!" and Aliara prepared herself to end this in one strike.

But then it happened.

She saw Killua move from behind Bodoro, stand up, and then appear right behind him.

He was going to kill someone. It was going to be the martial artist. She _knew_ it.

"NO!"

The plan forming in her mind as she went, Aliara lunged forward so quickly that Bodoro thought she was lunging for him. The martial artist dodged to his right and barely missed Killua's strike as his right hand tore upwards, meant to strike Bodoro through the chest and kill him.

She blinked. Her plan had worked. She had gotten Bodoro to move, so Killua wouldn't kill him.

She blinked again. Her vision was fading. What happened?

She blinked for a third time, then a fourth, her blinking becoming rapid.

Killua withdrew his hand. He had missed Bodoro. So why was his hand covered in blood?

She stumbled. What happened?

"No," she heard, "No, no, no!"

It was Killua.

Why did her shoulder hurt? Her left shoulder felt like it was on fire. She raised her right hand to her shoulder and pulled it away, sticky with blood.

Her vision was fading even more rapidly now. Killua was just a blur of white. His face was shocked and so upset that Aliara was having trouble comprehending what happened. His blue eyes widened, and Aliara finally realized how pretty his sapphire eyes were. The small dots of blue blurred.

"Aliara!" someone called, but she couldn't tell who.

Killua had accidentally hit her instead. Consumed by blood lust, of course.

At least Bodoro hadn't gotten hit. He would've died.

And at least she was short, and she had ducked to the right, so that Killua's hit had taken her shoulder instead of her chest or neck.

"Oh," she breathed and her normally quick mind put together what had happened.

Then her knees buckled, and she fell to the ground, her face coming to rest in a pool of her own blood.

* * *

 **Night Owl:** Thank you so so much! Your reviews mean a lot! :)

 **Guest:** Unfortunately, that was Aliara. Sigh. O hope your soul is okay. Thanks for the review! :)

 **O:** Aww thank you so so much!

 **Sorry for the late update. Hope you're all doing well!~**


	10. Tears

**Chapter 10: Tears**

Aliara crumpled to the floor, Killua fled, and the room erupted in chaos.

Tears welling up in his eyes, Killua tore out the large door and didn't look back, his mind running at a million miles an hour, then stopping, then trying to restart. He could hear Illumi's taunting voice in his head. _"You're not cut out for friends."_ And he hated it, but Illumi was right.

He was nothing but a cold, heartless killer. He couldn't have friends, because he'd kill them, just like he had done to Aliara.

The worst part was, he didn't realize exactly what he had done until he saw all the blood she was covered in. Blood never unnerved him, because he'd seen it many times. He'd killed many times. So why was this time so different?

It was because he had finally made a friend. And this was what happened.

Killua remembered her squatting down next to him, arguing that she and Gon were already his friends. He'd wanted so desperately to believe that. She had hugged him, and even though her hands were cold, his body was filled with a warmth he had never felt. But his blood lust was already running, desperate to just... kill something.

He had aimed for Bodoro.

Aliara had tried to help Bodoro, but taken the hit instead.

Killua ran to the only place he could go, tears leaking from his eyes and making tracks down his cheeks.

Home.

* * *

Kurapika and Leorio were the first ones to reach the raven-haired child. Kurapika knelt down. "Aliara! Aliara!" he looked up, his face panicked but composed at the same time. "She's unconscious."

"Infirmary," the chairman said immediately. "She was hit in the shoulder, not the chest, so she won't die. Unless it's from blood loss."

"Killua-" Leorio started, glancing at the door.

Netero shook his head. "We'll discuss that later. Right now, we need to see if we can save her life."

"I'm- I'm training to be a doctor," Leorio said frantically, grabbing his black and red suitcase. "I can help."

Kurapika was already pressing a ripped part of cloth from Aliara's t-shirt to her shoulder, but it was already soaked in blood. "Can we risk moving her?" the blond asked through gritted teeth.

Leorio pulled some more cloth and bandages out from his case. "We have to slow the bleeding first. Then, we can move her."

Kurapika and Leorio moved together as if they had been a team for years instead of weeks. Bodoro was in shock, observing with a blank expression on his face, occasionally glancing at the door, almost as if he was expecting Killua to come back, and then gingerly touching his chest. Hisoka was frowning. Illumi almost had a smug expression on his face, the 'I told you so' kind of face. Menchi frowned. "We should contact her family. It's probably best if she's put in their care as soon as possible."

The chairman nodded. He motioned to the group of tuxedo-wearing men that were waiting for orders, and they bustled out the doors. "Of course. Does anyone know her last name, or family?"

The silence that followed settled a load of shock on Leorio's and Kurapika's shoulders. Nobody had any clue who she was?

"Maybe we can ask Gon when he wakes up," Pokkle murmured, staring at the pool of blood on the floor.

Hisoka hummed softly, starting intently at the ceiling. "I believe she's a Lorvell."

"A Lorvell?" Kurapika gasped.

Leorio's jaw dropped. "No way!"

Menchi's eyebrows shot up. "That explains why I recognized her! Her family's famous."

"And rich," Leorio said, a strange sound forming in the back of his throat.

The chairman stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Yes, that's what I thought too. The Lorvells are one of the richest families in the land, with plenty of heirs. I've met her mother. They do share the same eyes."

"A Lorvell," Kurapika repeated, clenching crimson cloth down on Aliara's wound.

"She's rich," Leorio breathed. "She's got more money than she knows what to do with. Lives in mansions, wears expensive clothing, eats expensive food..."

"It explains how she knew what sushi was," Kurapika said thoughtfully, changing the soaked cloth for a new one as several men came down with a stretcher for Aliara. "And how she said she's tried dream eggs before."

The puzzle pieces all lined up. Kurapika and Leorio wordlessly shifted the small girl onto the stretcher and followed the men carrying it to the infirmary, leaving the rest of the contestants in the room.

But one puzzle piece didn't want to fit.

"It doesn't make sense," Kurapika said in frustration.

Leorio raised his eyebrows. "What doesn't?"

"She doesn't dress like she's rich," he said quietly, "she's wearing jeans and a t-shirt with an old backpack."

"So?"

"And remember when we came out of Trick Tower and her shirt was covered in blood? Not her own... but she didn't change out of it. She didn't bring any other change of clothes."

"You think she's a runaway?" Leorio asked loudly.

Kurapika nodded. "It's a hunch."

But it was a hunch that made sense.

* * *

Aliara blinked the bright light away until her eyes adjusted. She tried to sit up, but the flaming pain in her left shoulder made her fall back down. Where was she? What happened?

It all came back to her. Killua, Bodoro. She squeezed her eyes shut and let her head fall back against a fluffy pillow. She would not cry. She would not cry. She would never let anyone see her cry. Killua didn't mean to, she knew. He was in blood lust mode, she kept telling herself. _I got in the way. That's my fault._

Where was she?

It was a large, large room. The furniture was scarce, only a huge white bed that she was currently occupying, a night stand next to her left, and two small chairs in the corner of the room. There was one door on the opposite side of the chairs. The room had tall, white walls, and Aliara felt her stomach slowly sinking as she realized where she was. She was at home. Her... Her _mansion._

Ugh. This was the last place she wanted to be right now.

Aliara managed to sit up, wincing from her aching shoulder. She was in a white nightgown that had the left sleeve cut away, and her left shoulder was wrapped in bandages that circled down to her bicep.

Frowning, she started unraveling them.

The white bandages now a heap on the bed, Aliara stared at her shoulder in shock. There was a long scar, from near the base of her neck down across her shoulder that was a good ten centimeters long. The cut stung, obviously, but it looked clean and not infected. _How long have I been out? Who cleaned my wound?_

Wait.

Where the hell were her shoes? And her wristwatch?

Aliara almost jumped out of bed. Scanning the room quickly, she realized that her backpack, custom shoes, and wristwatch were nowhere to be found. Aliara felt like crying. Those were her favorite things in the whole world, her escape, and it had been taken away from her. Just another thing taken from her by her family. Her freedom, her life, and now her shoes.

The door in the corner of the room creaked open. "Oh, good," said a tall woman with long blonde hair and sparkly blue eyes as she pushed a grey trolley into the room. She was in a white nurse coat and had a matching hat. "You're awake, miss."

"How long have I been out?" she rasped, surprised at how dry her throat was.

The doctor hummed and started pulling some bottles off from her cart. "Three days now."

Aliara's head spun. Three days?

"Your mother hired me as soon as she heard you were injured, Lady Aliara," the lady said quietly, extending her hand out to Aliara and giving her two small purple pills. "To ensure that you recovered as soon as possible."

"Where are my shoes?" she demanded.

The nurse lady bowed. "Your mother instructed everything you owned to be put away for you later."

Oh, she knew what _that_ meant. Aliara didn't reply and stared at the pills in her hand. "I'm not going to poison you, Lady Aliara."

"Don't call me that," she replied evenly, swallowing the tiny pills.

"How should I address you, then?"

Aliara thought for a moment. "Just Aliara. Unless my mother's around."

Her nurse smiled warmly. "If that is your wish." She bowed, and Aliara's cheeks flushed. She hated this, other people acting inferior towards her just because of her family and household. It always made her uncomfortable. _I'm beginning to remember why I ran away._ "La- Aliara, why did you remove your bandages?"

She snapped back to reality. "Oh, they were uncomfortable." She swung her arm around in a circle, ignoring the flaming pain that raced up her arm. "I feel fine." The nurse didn't reply, instead started writing on a small clipboard. "Excuse me," Aliara interrupted, thinking, "what's your name?"

The blonde looked up from her writing in surprise. "My name is Fiona."

"Thank you, Fiona," Aliara mumbled, feeling darkness creeping up on her, "for taking care of me." Her cheeks flushed.

Fiona beamed. "It is my pleasure, Aliara."

The blonde nurse left and Aliara succumbed to sleep once more.

* * *

Four weeks.

About four weeks had passed, and she had been put under house arrest. A month since she last saw Gon and Killua, Kurapika and Leorio, and it was driving her insane. She was not allowed to leave. Not allowed to do anything outside of the house. A month that went to recovering and dying of boredom because all the house staff refused to let her do anything exciting.

She never got to see her mother until she received an 'invitation', and it was for dinner.

Aliara had been eating in her large recovery room, by herself, but sometimes in the company of Fiona, her nurse that had been her only company for those long four weeks. When she was finally allowed out for dinner, of course, she had to dress like she was trying to make an effort. Fiona helped her ease into a black sleeveless dress that her mother had specifically picked out for her.

She finally saw her siblings again, all dressed up in tuxedos and dresses.

Aliara entered the dining room a few minutes after six, late. The huge room was as polished and gleaming as she had remembered, with polished marble floors, matching pillars, and a huge crystal chandelier. The dining table was long, and covered in a white and gold table cloth, while large family portraits adorned the walls. Her family was seated at the table. She hated calling them that- _family._

They all watched her as she sat down. Aliara steeled her gaze and sat herself down.

"You're late."

Her mother, elegantly dressed in a deep purple robe, had her blonde hair pulled up into a large fancy bun on her head. She had expensive gold jewelry on her neck and wrists, and make up so well done that others would be jealous.

"I forgot that I had to dress nicely," Aliara said back, gritting her teeth. Her younger sister, who was sitting next to her, sucked in a deep breath. That was _not_ how she was supposed to address her mother.

Her mother narrowed her eyes. "We will address the matter of your absence later."

"Fine," Aliara snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I do hope you remember your manners," her mother scowled. Her mother, Adrianna Lorvell, had a pretty face but a completely opposite personality. "And that you remember how to address me."

Aliara ignored her.

"Your siblings," Adrianna continued, pursing her lips, "have missed you."

 _No, they haven't. That's a lie._

Her oldest sibling, Kuro, a black-haired boy with a cruel face, glowered at her. "We've installed new security systems since you... _left."_

Aliara's second oldest sibling, Yuno, snickered. His ginger hair was still spiky and messy, just as he liked it. Aliara's gaze swept the table. Iyami, her older sister, smiled softly at her before averting her gaze. Her brother Fukinoro, who was only a year older than her but incredibly cold and emotionless, held a poker face, no matter how long she stared at him.

Kuro, Yuno, Iyami, Fukinoro. And out of all four, Iyami, the girl, was the only one that acknowledged her as part of the family, before and after she ran away.

"I missed you."

Aliara looked up in surprise, then almost smiled. It was her brother, who had the same father as her, yet was a year younger. They looked nearly identical, with thin black hair and emerald eyes. His name was Ano, and he was bold and got angry really easily, just like she did. Ano was one of her favorite siblings, and it honestly wasn't hard to choose a favorite out of this lot.

"Thank you, Ano," she said, smiling at her 11 year-old brother. He smiled back. He was incredibly mature for his age.

Her youngest brother, seven years old and full of spunk, spoke next. "I didn't miss you," he snapped loudly, folding his arms across his chest. "Because when you were gone Kuro and Yuno spent more time teaching me because you weren't here to be picked on."

Aliara's cheeks tinged pink, and she bit her tongue. To her surprise, her mother smiled at him. "Yes, Libro, and your skills have vastly improved."

She struggled to control her temper.

The last one was her little sister. Nine years old and the kindest soul alive, Kirika was incredibly precious and couldn't hurt a fly. "I missed you," she mumbled quietly, and even though she was sitting directly beside Aliara, she had a hard time hearing her. The raven-haired girl patted her hand on Kirika's leg, and the tiny girl smiled.

Dinner was quiet, but the tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Instead of waiting for her mother to excuse her, Aliara excused herself and left for her recovery room, which was thankfully not too far from the dining hall.

On her way, she passed a family tree.

Aliara stared up at it, frowning. At the top was her mother, Adrianna Lorvell, and she didn't recognize the frame, so the family tree must've been rather new. Her siblings all branched off underneath.

Kuro. 19. His name and age was listed, with a picture underneath. Aliara frowned as she recalled her sibling's twisted personality. Black hair, maniac grin. Felt pride in humiliating people and teasing them.

Yuno. 18. Ginger hair, followed around Kuro like a puppy dog. He wasn't very strong individually. Stupid.

Iyami. 16. Brown hair and blue eyes, always quiet but deathly terrifying.

Fukinoro. 13. Her eyes fell upon his poker face and stone cold brown eyes. Silent.

Aliara. 12. She saw her own picture and glared at it, skipping it.

Ano, 11. The bold, kind yet angry child who kept Aliara sane in all her life living in this hell hole.

Kirika, 9, petite and blonde, sweetest person alive.

Libro, 7, spunky, reckless, and above all, stupid.

She glared angrily at the family tree, hating it, hating almost every person on it. Iyami, Kirika, and Ano were fine. But she detested her family, hated them all, and wanted to run away again. She stomped back to her recovery room, where Fiona was making her bed. "How did your dinner go?"

"Swimmingly," Aliara snapped back sarcastically. "Do you have a marker?"

* * *

Adrianna Lorvell frowned as she passed the family tree that the staff had put up a week ago.

Aliara's face was crossed off with a large black X.

She pursed her lips and continued to her daughter's room.

* * *

"I am NOT your daughter."

"You are," Aliara's mother snapped, "and you have to accept that."

"No," Aliara repeated, "I am NOT your daughter."

They had been arguing for five minutes now. Fiona was gone. Adrianna had arrived to explain the punishments and consequences revolving around her 'departure' but Aliara had refused to listen. The black-haired girl hated everything her mother said, the way she spoke, the expression she had, the way her hair was done up, the way her lip curled as she sneered. Everything.

"Where're my shoes?" she snapped next, glaring at her mother.

Adrianna scoffed. "Those pathetic things? I-"

"They're not pathetic!" Aliara screeched immediately, stomping her foot down. "I worked for a while on those!"

"You can make better use of your time-"

"But I like building things," Aliara cried, frustrated. "I love putting things together, breaking them again, fixing them again and adding more and more on! I love the finished products and I love the process! Why the hell can't I-"

Her mother narrowed her eyes. "Leave the creation to the servants."

"Where are my shoes?" Aliara said angrily. "And my backpack? And my wristwatch?"

"None of your concern!"

Aliara screamed, frustrated, and turned away from her mother. "As soon as my shoulder is completely healed," she snapped, "I'm leaving. I want nothing to do with this family."

"You are not leaving," her mother yelled angrily, leaning in to get in Aliara's face. "Because I will not allow you to tarnish the family name and reveal all our secrets like you tried to do when you escaped!"

Aliara stood up from her bed. "You think _that's_ what I was trying to do?! How selfish are you? I avoided my name like plague, I did everything to make sure nobody knew of my last name. I want nothing to do with you or this family."

"Then why did the chairman of the Hunter Society return you here?" her mother demanded, pointing at Aliara as she screamed. "He knew your last name! You have told people of this family's skills! You-"

"I DIDN'T!" Aliara screeched loudly, her hands flying up by her head. "The stupid 'rich family that's actually assassins' secret is still a secret!"

"And we will keep it that way," Adrianna insisted, stomping her foot down on the ground and almost cracking her heel. "Your training will not go to waste, and you do _not_ need a stupid hunter's license. Why would you go for one in the first place?"

Aliara's face was beet red and she felt tears prick the corners of her eyes. "I wanted to leave," she cried, "and I wanted to go places without having to use family money! I want to go places that you can't follow me!" Her voice cracked. "I don't want to be part of this family. The family where you go around pleasing men and bearing their children so you can marry those children off to other rich families and get access to their fortunes. You use your kids by training them as assassins and forcing them on missions just to get yourself more cash. You care about nothing but money, money, and more money, and I want nothing to do with your stupid plans!"

Aliara's mother's face screwed up with rage. "You are my daughter! You don't have a choice! You will stay here for the rest of your life and do exactly as I say!"

"I-"

"I've got a rich business man with a son that's lined up to take you as his bride in the next few years," her mother continued, breathing heavily, "and you will not have a choice in the matter. You will stay here and no longer be allowed to train and participate in missions like your siblings."

"I don't want to stay here!" Aliara screamed. "I'm stronger than I was when I left. I'm leaving, and there's nothing you can do about it!"

"You will stay," her mother promised, "you will present yourself in a suitable manner for visitors and for the staff, and you will not be training any longer. That is an order."

"To hell with your orders!" Aliara shouted angrily, her temper at its limit. Her mother tried to grab her wrist and she broke away, vaulting over her bed. "I'm done with you and this family! Go away!"

"Aliara-"

"GO AWAY!"

"You-"

"I hate you," Aliara sobbed, clutching her shoulder. She refused to let the tears come. "I hate you and this family. GO. AWAY."

And her mother finally left. Only after she left did Aliara allow herself to fall onto her stupid white bed and the stupid white pillow and cry, letting all her built up frustration and anger lose in the form of tears. Fiona didn't return, and Aliara didn't want her to. She cried, wishing for Killua or Gon, or anyone- just not her family.

Suddenly, Killua's accidental injury to her shoulder seemed so minor. Aliara didn't care about that anymore. She just wanted to see him again.

* * *

 **I do not expect anyone to remember the sibling's names. It's a lot at once, I know, but I just wanted to get their names out there in case they appear later in the story.**

 **O:** THANK YOU SO MUCH!

 **Reading1Dragon:** Thank you so so so much! :)

 **Night Owl:** Thank you! :)

 **SpiritedSilver:** Your review made me laugh, thanks so much! :D

 **If you don't need me to reply to your review (this is mostly for fanfiction users, not guests) just let me know. I understand if I'm annoying, I just want y'all to know that I'm reading your reviews! XD**

 **Thank you! :)**


	11. Reunion

**Chapter 11: Reunion**

"She's alive?" Killua breathed, his backpack straps slipping slightly off his shoulders.

Gon nodded eagerly. "She had to be taken back to her home, but she's alive. We're going to go get her next." He tapped a finger to his chin. "Kurapika said that going to get you, then Aliara, would give her injury more time to heal."

Killua ducked his head at the forest ground. He, alongside Kurapika, Leorio, and Gon, were all leaving his manor. His body was wracked in cuts and bruises that he couldn't feel, courtesy of Miluki. "She probably doesn't want to see me."

"Why not?" Gon frowned.

The assassin gritted his teeth. Gon's innocence really didn't help the situation. "I stabbed her, Gon!" Killua cried, glaring at him. Leorio raised his eyebrows. "I nearly killed her!"

"So?" Gon replied with a shrug. "You didn't mean to, right?"

Killua was taken aback. "Well, no. I didn't really... Well... No."

"Then it's okay," Gon dismissed, smiling. "Because you didn't mean to, so she'll forgive you." His footsteps made crunching noises as he walked across some leaves.

Killua was about to open his mouth to protest when Kurapika interjected. "She seems to be a proud person," the blond agreed, "and I know you think that she probably won't forgive you. But don't forget she stepped in the way willingly."

"Not really," Killua snapped, "she-"

"Wanted to force Bodoro out of the way, yes," Kurapika continued, acting as if Killua hadn't rudely interrupted, "and I know you think she won't forgive you. But Aliara is a smart girl. She knows that what you did wasn't your fault."

"Yeah," Leorio agreed, muttering, "she looked ready to tear Illumi apart with her bare hands."

Kurapika shot him a grateful look. "You said you wanted to be friends with Aliara, right?" Killua nodded, hunching his shoulders. "Well, then you should probably apologize. You don't know if she will accept it or not until you try."

Killua sunk into silence. Would Aliara forgive him? He'd nearly killed her; in his mind, he was positive she had no reason to and she'd probably avoid him like plague. But in his heart, he felt lonely and frustrated- angry that he hadn't been able to control himself and prevent the accident from happening. Lonely because as much as he tried to forget about her, he couldn't. He mashed his teeth together and finished the walk in silence. This was going to be the most difficult thing he'd ever do.

They exited his property.

"Say," Killua mused, "where does she live, anyways?"

Leorio almost choked (on nothing). "We didn't tell him!"

"She's a Lorvell," Kurapika answered.

Killua's eyes bugged out of his head. "A Lorvell?! You mean that super rich family?"

"What's a Lorvell?" Gon asked.

As Kurapika chuckled and started to explain to Gon that it was just her last name, but carried more power than regular names did, Killua mentally slapped himself. He should've put the clues together.

Would she want to leave with them? Especially from a posh mansion and more money than she could ask for?

* * *

Aliara hissed in pain as she rolled her shoulder again and again. _Push through the pain, push through the pain, oh my god, push through the god damned pain._ She groaned and relaxed her muscles, letting her arm fall limp against her side.

She was in her bedroom. Her huge, exquisite bedroom, that had a large bed with a silver frame and black sheets, just the way she had remembered. The floor was covered in a fancy, expensive black and white patterned carpet. Sparkly silver lights hung from the ceiling, and she had a large closet filled with more clothes than she'd ever need in the back of her room. Aliara moaned. She was beyond bored. She was agitated, angry, and just wanted to leave.

There was a polite tap at her door. Aliara sat up on her bed. "Come in."

In marched a tall, male guard. He was one of three that had been watching her bedroom door night and day and escorting her to meals. "Your mother has requested your presence for dinner at 6:30, in ten minutes. She, um, requires that you change into this dress." He held up a black bag that had the dress in it.

Aliara didn't say a word. Invitations like this came every day. Sometimes, the meal times varied. Other times her mother insisted of a certain dress code- certain colors, specific dresses. The guard hooked the dress on the closet door and left, closing the door behind him.

From past experience, she knew the guards wouldn't allow her to leave without formal attire. And she was pretty hungry. Frowning, Aliara unzipped the bag.

Pink.

It was _pink._

She hated it already.

And it was lace! Oh, lord.

The dress was indeed beautiful, but not to Aliara's liking. It was a long gown, that would barely touch the tops of her feet, she could tell. The dress had a faded rose pink color, with thick straps that wrapped around her biceps, leaving her neck and shoulder completely exposed. The dress tightened at the waist and then flowed out. The top portion was tightly knit lace.

It was a gorgeous dress, but oh, how she hated it.

She changed into it, grumbling the entire time, the bandages around her shoulder that she had been forced to wear completely visible. Her mother had slipped gold earrings, large, loopy things, into the bag, alongside a gold necklace. A simple chain with a golden moon on the end. Growling, and not really wanting to face her mother's wrath, Aliara jammed the earrings painfully into her ears. She'd had piercings forever, so long she couldn't even remember. Aliara clipped on the necklace, slid on gold heels with thick, shiny straps that made her a good couple inches taller, and swung open the door to her room. Two guards stood there, dressed in tuxedos with black glasses and guns. Stupid safety protocol.

"Let's go," she grumbled, and she was flanked by the two guards as she angrily stomped down the hall.

Aliara arrived in the dining room and realized that there were different people there than usual. At the head of the table, next to her mother, sat a tall man with thinning brown hair and short mustache. Her siblings were in their usual seats, minus Kuro and Yuno, who were off doing some assassination mission. And, in Yuno's usual spot, sat a tall boy with combed brown hair. He grinned sheepishly at her.

"Ah, finally," her mother said airily, gesturing to Aliara's empty seat. "You're here. Please take a seat, Aliara, dear."

Her mother never said _dear._ Aliara narrowed her eyes. Adrianna, her lovely mother, gave her the _behave-or-else_ stare and Aliara got it.

This was the family she was supposed to be engaged to. Lovely.

She sat down quietly, nodding to Iyami, who smiled back at her politely. Aliara faced her mother, who beamed at her falsely and said, "Meet Sir Archino Duchard." _What kind of a name is that?!_ "And his son, Surron Duchard." _Again with the names!_

The man coughed. "A pleasure, Lady Aliara."

The words caught in her throat. She _knew_ what she was supposed to say- "The pleasure is all mine" -but she bit her tongue. She was NOT going to marry this man, Surron or whatever.

"Okay," Aliara said instead, and her mother shot her a cold, murderous look.

"Please forgive my daughter," Adrianna Lorvell said, mustering a smile, "she's entering her rebellious teenage years."

"As is my son," the man agreed. "He has just reached thirteen."

Aliara wanted to scream. _I'm twelve years old! I don't want to get married!_

The cooks walked out, pushing huge silver carts with plates loaded on top. Food was passed out, with her mother and Sir Douche-ard or whoever he was making small talk. Aliara glared at her chicken angrily.

She missed Killua. And Gon, and Kurapika, and Leorio.

The other day for breakfast, the chefs had served dream eggs, and Aliara had wanted to scream and cry and hit something at the same time. The day after, they had sushi. Aliara had gone to bed almost in tears. She missed them so, so badly. She'd been trying to plot a time to escape, but she had security cameras trained on her doors and on the sole window in her room.

Then, her prayers were answered.

The butler opened the door to the dining hall. "Lady Lorvell."

"You better have a good excuse for interrupting our lovely dinner," Adrianna said with a scowl.

The butler bowed deeply. "My deepest apologies. We have a group at the front gate that requests an audience with Miss Aliara."

Her mother's eyes widened, only after Aliara's breath caught in her throat. The only people that would want to meet her would be the ones she had been dying to see so badly. Her mother's blonde head shook, and her lips pursed. "N-"

"Yes!" Aliara cried, standing up suddenly in her seat. Everyone turned to face her. "Yes, please," she said eagerly. Her mother glared at her. Aliara whipped her head around to the butler, her ponytail lightly slapping her face. "Did they give a name?"

It may have been her imagination, but the butler smirked slightly. "It was a party of four, and the boy that called in said his name was Gon."

Aliara wanted to cry in relief.

"No," her mother insisted. "They cannot be here. She cannot see them."

 _"Mother!"_ Aliara cried angrily. She had refused to call her that, but it had to be said. "Please. I haven't seen them in ages, and I miss them so much."

Adrianna was about to argue again when Sir Arch-something coughed again. "I'm sure there is no harm in allowing her to see some friends." His son, Suro or something, nodded along, smiling at Aliara.

The raven-haired assassin beamed triumphantly. Her mother was backed into a corner. She could refuse now and potentially ruin the relationship she wished to forge with this man, or she could let Aliara see her friends.

"Fine," Adrianna said coldly. "But I wish to be there to supervise."

Aliara gritted her teeth. That was the best she was going to get. She whirled around to face the butler again. "Very well," he said, bowing low, "I will ask them to meet in the grand hall in ten minutes. I will have the limousine pick them up." He bowed again and left.

Her mother pursed her lips tightly, anger and frustration building in her eyes. "Eat," she demanded coldly.

Aliara sat herself down, unable to contain her excitement. She finished her chicken in five minutes.

* * *

Killua drew a deep breath as he stepped foot into the Lorvell's grand hall. It was huge, as big or possibly bigger than his own home, and the grand hall was extremely impressive. The walls were pure white with beautiful gold decorations and swirling gold pillars. There was a huge door at the back of the room, and a huge carpet on the floor in front of it with two white couches facing each other.

Gon was taking in everything in pure awe, from the swinging diamond chandelier on the roof the the black and white tiled floor. Kurapika was maintaining a poker face, yet Killua could read beneath his expression- he was impressed. Leorio looked completely flabbergasted, gawking at the butlers who opened the doors for them unattractively.

"Please, have a seat," the butler gestured kindly at the couches.

Leorio seemed hesitant- many he just didn't want to sit somewhere so expensive that could be easily ruined or dirtied. Nevertheless, they all sat. "The ladies will be arriving shortly." The butler bowed.

"Ladies?" Gon questioned before Killua got the chance.

The butler smiled. "Miss Lorvell, Lady Aliara's mother, has requested to be present as well." He bowed again and exited.

Killua swallowed. He felt himself sweating. _Would she want to leave? Is she going to be extremely rude and snobby? ...Is she going to be angry with me? Well, of course she is, but will she forgive me? Probably not, but will-_

"Killua."

He jerked his head up at Leorio.

"Stop sweating, okay?" he snapped with a sheepish grin. "You're making me nervous." Kurapika smiled, Gon grinned widely, and Killua relaxed. Everything was going to be okay. Everyone was going to be okay. Every-

The door opened, and his head snapped up, alongside the other boys in the room.

Killua's jaw hit the floor.

Aliara walked in, taller, and with more grace than he would've imagined. The height increase was probably because of the tall gold heels she was wearing, but she walked so effortlessly in them that Killua couldn't believe it.

She was wearing _pink,_ and even if he didn't know her long, Killua was sure she probably would never wear pink.

The dress was expensive, it was easy to tell, and the jewelry that matched the shoes was equally so. Her hair was still in a ponytail, like always, but it was sleek and straight. Killua cringed as he saw the mound of white bandages wrapped around her shoulder. _He_ had done that. He was responsible for her injury, and he hated himself every time he looked at it.

He'd never tell her, but she looked very, very good.

And also very, very uncomfortable.

A moment of silence settled as the boys all regarded Aliara, eyes wide, before she threw herself forwards into a run- god, how did she _do_ that in heels?!- and flung herself, to everyone's surprise, at Leorio.

Leorio made an awkward sound (something like, "oomph!") as Aliara tackled him in a huge bear hug, squeezing so tight Leorio was positive his lungs were going to burst. "You came," she nearly sobbed, backing off Leorio and smiling at them all widely. "You all came."

"Of course we did," Gon replied with a grin. "We couldn't leave without you!" A sudden burst of love for the boy flowed through Aliara and she lunged at him too in a hug. Gon laughed and hugged her back, and Killua couldn't help but smile at the two, his two best friends.

Well. One of them was. He didn't know about the other anymore.

She turned next and grabbed Kurapika's hands. "I can't believe you guys came," she said, her voice oozing with relief. "Please, get me out of here."

"You don't want to stay?" Leorio asked, raising an eyebrow.

Aliara shook her head vigorously. "No. I hate it here. I hate these dresses, the stupid manners, my family, everything. Get me out of here and I'll explain everything."

"Ali..." Killua mustered, speaking for the first time.

She turned towards him, but at that moment, the doors swung open again, and Aliara's mother marched in. She was in a long, elegant pink and black gown with ribbons and bows. She looked very different from Aliara, Killua noticed, with the exception of her eyes. Aliara and her mother had identical, emerald green eyes. Eyes that sparkled with beauty but were very stern and unforgiving. Killua felt knots form in his stomach.

"What association do you have with my daughter?" the lady demanded haughtily.

Aliara glared at her mother angrily. "They're my friends." Killua glanced back and forth between the two- their relationship appeared to be rocky and unstable. "Where did you put my shoes? And my backpack?"

"They are of no concern to you," her mother dismissed, and Killua almost yelled out at her then and there. Her mother had taken away her creation? Ouch.

"I am leaving," Aliara said stubbornly. Killua marveled at the way she stood up to her mother. "I'm leaving. I'll drop my last name. I don't care. I just want out of this family."

"You are a part of this family," she snapped back, "and you really don't have a choice in the matter. You were born here, and you will stay here. You-"

Gon spoke up, and Killua cringed, afraid that his friend was going to get them kicked out. "If you're really her family, that must mean you love her, right?"

Aliara's mother was taken aback, as was Aliara. "W- What?"

"A family revolves around love," Gon stated plainly, as if it was the most natural and known thing in the world. "And you said that Aliara is your daughter, no matter what. So, do you love her then?"

"Yes," the lady lied, so well that Killua was almost convinced, but Aliara's expression argued otherwise. "Yes, I do."

"That you should let her go," Gon said, smiling. "Because if you love her, you wouldn't want to stop her. And if you don't love her, then there shouldn't be any reason for her to hang around. Right?"

Killua's jaw dropped again. Kurapika was staring down at the boy with a soft smile on his face, while Leorio looked like he would burst with glee. Gon's words were so straightforward, so simple minded, yet they had backed the lady into a corner. Aliara was trying not to, but Killua could see the large smile expanding across her face. Her mother grimaced, eyebrows knitting together.

"And who might you be?" she questioned quickly, avoiding the question entirely.

Gon stared back at her. "My name is Gon."

"I'm Leorio," he interjected, introducing himself.

Kurapika nodded. "Kurapika."

Killua realized he was the only one who hadn't said anything and now everyone was staring at him. He gulped. "Killua," he said quickly.

Aliara's mother glared at them all. "I request that you leave. Butler!"

The butler bustled into the room, but everyone had already erupted in panic. "No!" Aliara cried out, pulling herself up as tall as possible.

"Wait," Kurapika said quickly.

"But," Leorio stammered.

"No," Killua mumbled.

Gon didn't say a word, only glared hard at the blonde lady. "You never answered my question." The room fell into cold silence. "Would you let Aliara leave?"

Killua clicked his fingers in anticipation. Then, Aliara's mother drew herself up to full height, and declared coldly, "I will not allow any of my children to tarnish the family name. They are required to remain here and fulfill their duties as heirs to the Lorvell family fortune. They have no purpose to be in the outside world."

Four strong-armed butlers firmly grasped the four boys and started dragging them to the doors. Aliara was screaming, "No! Why are you making them leave? They haven't done anything wrong!" But no amount of protesting could stop her mother's orders. Killua knew he could easily break out of this man's hold, but what would it mean for Aliara? If he fought to get to her, as he was sure the others would do, would Aliara be punished? If this really was a family of assassins, like his own, then they could definitely protect their house- and he couldn't take a whole household on along.

He punched himself, cursing. In the background, he could hear Aliara's cursing. "I hate you! How could you-"

And he turned around, but the doors were already closed, and Killua found himself longing to see her one more time.

* * *

 **Night Owl:** Aww thank you! :)

 **SpiritedSilver:** Thank you so much! Aha, her family's lovely, aren't they? Nothing wrong with remembering ages and not names, happens to me all the time XD (It's Kirika by the way)

 **Guest:** THANK YOU! :)

 **O:** Awwww thanks so so much :) :)

 **Is it just me, or are the chapters getting longer?**


	12. Freedom

**Chapter 12: Freedom**

"We're going back in there," Gon insisted as the guards slammed the heavy gold front gates behind them as they tossed them out. Killua's entire body felt numb, and he was already regretting not fighting his way back in there.

Kurapika cocked an eyebrow at him. "You couldn't have fought your way in there."

Killua scowled.

"Anyways," Kurapika continued as they ventured further from the Lorvell property, "Aliara has an escape plan."

"She what?!" Killua asked in disbelief.

Leorio made a sound of disgust. "Well, a hell of a lot of good that does us now. She's gone!"

The blond boy held up a neatly folded sheet of manila white paper. The other boys gawked at it. "She handed me this when she grabbed my hands."

Gon grinned wildly. "Wow!"

"That's really smart of her," Leorio admitted, smirking. Killua blinked. Leave it to Aliara to think of something like that. Kurapika carefully unfolded the note, and the other boys crowded around to read it. Killua narrowed his eyes.

 _I've got my brother Ano disabling the security system tonight. The cameras will be off from 1am to 2am, no sooner, no later._

 _Gon's hair is dark, he can pass for me. Use him as a distraction to get all the guards out of the picture so one or two of you can come and break the lock on my window. Second floor, west side of the building. Look for me. I'll be waiting._

 _I miss you all._

 _-Ali_

 _Killua. We should talk._

Killua groaned. She couldn't have been more cryptic if she tried. How many guards were there? Were they all skilled? Will there be people watching her room? He shook his head furiously, repeating the last line of her letter in his head.

 _Killua. We should talk._

Shit, she was mad at him.

"She's given us an attack plan," Kurapika said quietly. "So, I say we split into two groups. The distraction and the rescue. Gon, how do you feel about dressing as a girl, temporarily?"

Gon grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "If it gets Aliara out of there, sure!"

"Leorio should go too," Kurapika added. The suited man cried out in disbelief but Kurapika shushed him quickly. "You can pretend to be running away with her. Gon is fast, he'll be fine. Killua and I will scale the building and find her room. How does that sound?"

Gon and Leorio nodded. Killua didn't say anything. He felt anxious.

"So," Kurapika said, smiling, "let's go find something for Gon that looks slightly feminine, hmm?"

* * *

12:58 in the morning. Leorio was yawning loudly (and was punched by Kurapika so that he would shut up) but Killua wasn't the least bit tired. He was extremely anxious, nervous, and a bunch of other emotions he couldn't sort out. Gon was dressed in black pants and a blue hoodie, which they all agreed was something Aliara would wear. Leorio spent half an hour taming Gon's hair so it hung down instead of pointing up.

He actually passed for Aliara.

"My hair's really weird," Gon complained, laughing as he petted his head.

Leorio smacked his hand away. "Oi, don't touch it!"

"It's time," Kurapika told everyone, glancing at a watch that was latched around his wrist. "Everyone ready?"

Killua swallowed. "Yeah."

Gon flashed a big thumbs up in Kurapika's direction. "Yup!"

Kurapika handed Leorio a small communication device, like a walkie-talkie, and told him to use it if he needed help. The four had no problems sneaking past the gate. Killua caught sight of many guards and many video cameras, but they managed to get all the way to the mansion with little difficulty. Leorio botched their cover accidentally, but Kurapika and Killua knocked out the guards before they could say anything. They found the west side of the building.

Gon grinned at Killua and he took off (loudly). Leorio followed behind him. They caught the attention of a dozen guards, and soon, there was a scramble and shouting as there was a stampede after Gon and Leorio.

Kurapika and Killua waited until they were all gone before they started climbing. There were plenty of fancy decorations and windows for footholds, which made the mansion relatively easy to climb. Killua's eyes widened- this place was five stories high, and massive. Aliara said... Second floor.

He caught Kurapika's eye, and the Kurta clan member jerked his hand one way. They would split up. Killua nodded and started hopping from window to window. The first window held a large room with a set of four beds. A few men lay sleeping- staff rooms, he guessed. He couldn't see into the second window, because it was pitch black inside. He frowned, and moved on.

The third window was much more promising.

He peered inside, and saw Aliara.

Killua motioned quickly to Kurapika, who saw him and started climbing back over. Aliara noticed Killua peering in and her eyes widened. She jumped up on a huge stool that she had placed by her window, and that brought her up to eye level with the pair. She pointed to the window's corner. Killua saw a small lock.

 _That's nothing._ His fingers slightly sore from holding onto a ledge, Killua used his unnatural strength to break the lock, setting the broken metal down on the window ledge. He nearly slipped from the ledge, but Kurapika held him steady. Aliara threw her window open. "Get inside," she hissed quickly. "More guards are already heading out."

Killua didn't need anymore motivation, and he threw himself through the window, tucking into a roll. Kurapika shook his head. "Leorio called me. He and Gon need help. Can you get her out of here?"

Killua nodded slowly. Aliara waved at Kurapika. "Good luck!"

Then, the blond boy was gone. Aliara jammed her window closed again.

Killua finally got a good glimpse of her room. It was huge, yet so empty. Aliara had changed out of her pink dress from earlier and was now wearing a black hoodie with navy blue jeans. She was barefoot.

"Ali," he started slowly, watching her gaze rise from her feet to his face, "I-"

"I'm not mad at you," she said, quickly and quietly. Killua clamped his jaw shut. "Not at all. I jumped in the way."

"But still," he protested, scuffing his shoes against the fuzzy, carpeted floor, "I... I kind of lost it. And I still hurt you."

"You mean this?" Aliara pulled off the black hoodie, revealing a dark purple tank top, and pointed to the long scar on her shoulder. Killua winced- the scar was red, scabbed over, and very obvious. She shook her head. "I'm good as new. I got in the way, it was my fault." She looked up at him, zipping her hoodie up again. "But... Don't shut down on me next time, okay?"

He felt himself nodding. "I'm... sorry."

Aliara looked surprised. "Wow, you actually apologized."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, ghost boy," she mocked playfully, "you're not the type to apologize."

"I know," Killua agreed, smiling, "so don't expect it again."

She smiled. "I'm just glad you came back."

Aliara stepped up to Killua and hugged him tightly. Killua froze up for a brief second before he relaxed, wrapped his arms around her waist, and hugged her back. He'd never really hugged anyone before, except for his younger sister Alluka at home. He enjoyed it, the warmth of the hug, before she pulled off.

"My older sister Iyami told me that Adrianna locked my shoes up in the spare room," she said quickly. Killua frowned at her, raising an eyebrow. "Adrianna's my mom."

"Ah," he replied. "Do you really have eight siblings?"

"Seven," Aliara corrected, "And they're all more skilled than I am."

Killua shook his head. "No way."

"I appreciate the self esteem boost," she said (Killua noticed that her cheeks tinged pink. Why was that?). "I'd like to get my shoes, but I'll only do it if you come too."

The white-haired assassin shrugged. "Yeah, of course."

"Perfect," Aliara declared, turning to her door. "Let's fight our way out of here, shall we?"

"How skilled are the guards?" Killua asked as he walked up with her, facing the tall, white and gold door.

Aliara made a face. "Not bad. Nothing near your level, but better than your average security guard."

"Can I kill them?" he whispered.

She nodded. "Except for the blond one. His name's Harris, and he's nice to me."

Killua smirked, and Aliara grinned back. He didn't know what he had been sweating over in the first place. Kurapika was right- he'd have to thank him later. Aliara pulled the door open, which was unlocked (Aliara told him afterwards that it would be too much of a hassle for the guards to unlock it and re-lock it every time) and Killua saw two tall men. One was blond, like Aliara had said, but the other had combed black hair.

"Hey-"

Aliara sprang at the black-haired one and Killua kicked the blond one down, raising his hand to his throat. "Not a word," he whispered, and the man got the message, nodding. If this man wasn't Harris, he'd kill him anyways.

He looked over to his friend. The guard was laying on the ground, his neck twisted at an odd angle. Dead. Aliara smirked at Killua. "Thanks for leaving him alive," she whispered. She looked the blond man in the eyes. "Harris," Aliara said bluntly, "you're alive because of your kindness to me." She shoved a small brown bag at him, and Killua moved his hand away.

Harris made slow nods, and the two took off down the hallway. "What was that?" he asked after they had taken down two more guards.

"Money," she replied. "I've had a secret stash since I was little, because I planned to run away. I did run away, and left the money behind because I didn't want to use it. I figured, if I'm going to ruin him at his job, may as well make it easier for the next job he has."

"That's the nicest thing you've ever done," he said with a smirk, peering around a corner.

Aliara giggled. "My good deed of the year."

The pair made it down the staircase when the mansion's lights shut down. Small lights started blinking red. Aliara cursed. "Lock down mode," she explained as they ran. "She knows I'm trying to escape."

They were almost there when a tall ginger boy popped out of nowhere, trying to swing a punch at Aliara and missing. "Hey!" he cried out as he swung. Killua's eyes widened- the black-haired girl was already behind him, shoving him to the floor. _She said she was slow?!_

"Not today, Yuno," she snapped, then turned to Killua. "He's normally faster, but I think he's drunk." Killua almost laughed as they continued to run. Aliara stopped in front of a door. "This is it." She tried the handle and cursed. Locked.

Killua thrust his foot out and kicked the door down. It fell with a loud clatter, and his friend shrugged. "That's one way to do it." Killua and Aliara ventured into the room quickly, and immediately pointed out the small bag in the corner of the room. Grinning, Aliara ran over to it and unzipped it. "They're here," she cheered, holding them up for Killua to see. "I guess she got Yuno to put them away, because they weren't well hidden and he's not very bright."

He laughed. "Let's get out of here."

"Right!" Aliara threw the bag over her shoulder. They bolted from the room, up a flight of stairs, and ducked into the sitting room, where Aliara had met with Leorio, Killua, Gon, and Kurapika just yesterday. The pair skidded to a stop, and Killua's blood ran cold.

Adrianna, Aliara's mother, stood in waiting in front of the door in a fluffy white nightgown, her hair done up in elaborate curls. She flanked by a dozen security guards in black suits. "Running away again, Aliara, dear?" she said through clenched teeth. Killua clenched his fists and glanced at Aliara- her face was beaded with sweat, and she was biting her lip. "And this is Killua?"

To his surprise, Aliara straightened up. "Yeah. Adrianna, meet Killua Zoldyck."

"Zoldyck?" her mother mused. Killua kept his poker face. "The chairman of the Hunters' Society mentioned that it was a Zoldyck who gave you the injury." Her emerald eyes narrowed. "Why is he here?" Killua's insides tied themselves in knots. So she knew.

"He's helping me escape," Aliara replied honestly.

"He injured you."

"Not as much as you have," she countered. Killua didn't know what to do or say- this argument looked dangerous. "And he's my friend. One of my only friends, thanks to you, and I don't want to ruin that."

Aliara's mother's nostrils flared, and she raised a hand. The security guards pulled out guns and pointed them at the two twelve-year-olds. Killua tensed- guns were expensive, so obviously, Aliara's family could afford them. Guns were annoying.

"Killua's taught me more than the stupid trainers you hired ever could have," Aliara snapped, her voice low but scary.

Killua found his voice. "I didn't mean to hurt her."

"Didn't mean to!" Aliara's mother barked out a laugh. "I wish you had hurt her on purpose! It's her own fault, anyways! Aliara has been taught that there are no friends in this world. Only allies, enemies, and tools to be used. And you, Zoldyck, are just a tool she's using to get out of here."

"Shut up!" Aliara screeched, stomping her foot.

"She's using you," Adrianna breathed, "because that is how she was raised, that is her nature. She brings nothing but trouble, and will get you killed."

Killua glared at her, hating her more and more. Aliara's expression was tortured. "Funny coincidence," he snapped, "because I've been brought up to believe that I'm only meant to kill people. I guess we'll cancel each other out."

Adrianna's eyes flared. "Imbecile!"

"Rhythm Echo," Aliara whispered, and Killua knew exactly what she meant. Together, they took a step forwards

"Rhythm Echo?" Adrianna cackled. "You're a failure, you've never succeeded in learning it. Guards, fire!"

But the guards let out shouts of alarm. There were now twenty copies of a white-haired boy in a long-sleeved, black t-shirt, with a murderous expression on his face, and another twenty copies of a girl with long black hair and cold green eyes. Forty copies in total. The guards started shooting, but only managed to take out the copies. As quick as light, Killua and Aliara killed the twelve guards, unharmed.

Adrianna's eyes widened. They were behind her, at the door, which was swung open wide. She whirled around, her blonde curls bobbing. "You-"

"Bye, _mother,_ " Aliara snapped with an incredible amount of loathing and hatred in her tone. "I hope I never see you again."

Killua grimaced. "I wish I could say it's been a pleasure." He flashed her an innocent smile.

"Ali-"

They slammed the doors and took off down the lawn. Their path was free of guards. Killua pointed out where they were meeting the others as soon as they got out of the gate. Sure enough, Kurapika, Gon, and Leorio were already there, smiling upon their arrival.

Aliara was buried in a group hug, which was started by Gon and ended by Leorio.

"Thank you," she said quietly, her smile wobbling. "Thank you so, so much."

All the boys flashed her brilliant smiles. Then, Leorio dropped off his feet, asleep. They all laughed and started the walk down to the nearest town in search of a hotel of anywhere that they could stay for the night.

"You said you wanted to be free, right?" Killua asked her as they were walking.

Aliara nodded, her face lighting up.

"I think you are."

"I think so too," she agreed, wrapping her arms around Killua in a bear hug. "I'm free."

Killua squeezed her tight. "Yeah. You are."

* * *

 **Night Owl:** Thank you so so much! Your review made me laugh XD Yes, Doucheard was the first thing that came to mind!

 **SpiritedSilver:** YES GON IS ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE! Don't worry, I'm doing my best to follow the Hunter X Hunter timeline, and I won't make huge changes. I hope. Thanks for the review! :)

 **Reading1dragon:** Thank you so so so much! :)

 **We've gotten to a point where that is all I have pre-written. I've been trying to write in advance (I had about seven chapters ready before I published it) but I will do my best to keep to update time up to a week at the most.**

 **Thank you all so so much!~**


	13. Plans

**Chapter 13: Plans**

"So what now?"

That was the dying question in everyone's heads as they stumbled through town the next day.

"I'm going to fight Hisoka," Gon declared, "and return his tag!" He punched out the white circle with the number 44 written on it. Aliara rolled her eyes. _Predictable._

"Do you know where Hisoka is?" Killua asked.

The black-haired boy froze up. Then he grinned sheepishly. "Well, no." Kurapika, Leorio, and Aliara laughed as Killua pounded Gon on the head.

"I have an idea," the blond boy mused as they walked.

"Really?" Gon asked. "Where?"

Kurapika sighed thoughtfully, gazing up at the sky. "He told me to meet him in Yorknew City on September first."

"That's six months away," Gon mumbled.

Killua frowned. "What's going on there?"

Aliara rolled her emerald eyes. "Only the biggest auction in the world!"

The four boys stared at her. "What?"

"An auction," she repeated, "you know, where people bid on stuff they want. It's from the first to the tenth in Yorknew city. Rare objects, stuff that you wouldn't be able to find anywhere else in the world. It's incredible, I went there last year before I ran away." She shifted awkwardly in her shoes- God, it felt incredible to be out of heels and back in her regular shoes.

"You think they'll be there?" Leorio asked the Kurta.

"Who?" Aliara asked, her eyes narrowing.

"The Phantom Troupe," Kurapika said quietly. "Hisoka mentioned them. I think they'll be at the auction."

The five continued their discussion and all agreed to meet in Yorknew City on September first. Leorio was going to study for medical school, and Kurapika was off to find work as a hunter. Killua, Gon, and Aliara all waved to them as they left. There was no way they were separating, especially after the events of the month.

"Hey, Gon," Aliara asked suddenly, only just remembering, "did I get my Hunter's license?"

"I forgot about that," the white-haired boy mused.

The black-haired boy's eyes lit up, and then they darkened. He shrugged, looking down at the ground. "I tried to persuade them. But they decided, because they didn't really know the exact situation, that Killua was trying to help you, because he was aiming for Bodoro. That meant you were both disqualified."

"What?!" Killua cried. "That's- that's-"

"Bullshit," Aliara snapped angrily, glaring at the ground.

"And it's my fault," he mumbled quietly, "I-"

"You already apologized," Aliara replied stiffly. "You don't need to do it again."

Killua snapped his jaw shut. She seemed more upset about this than she was about her injury. He bit his lip and didn't say anymore- she looked like she would lash out at him if he said anything. This was all his fault.

"I'll just get it next year," she was saying, but it sounded like she was only saying it to herself. "I can get it next year."

There was an awkward silence.

Then, Gon asked, "So, what're we going to do?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Killua mused.

"Aren't we going to have fun?" the dark-haired boy wondered.

Aliara's face went blank and she nearly laughed. Killua yelled in exasperation and started scolding the startled Gon rapidly, claiming that he could never hope to hit Hisoka in the shape he was now, and six months would never be enough time, not even ten years. Aliara tuned them out until she noticed Killua drawing lines in the dirt. There was a messy picture of Hisoka's face next to Hanzo's face (at least, she thought it was them). Killua proceeded to drag the stick through the dirt for a good ten meters until he stopped and tapped the ground. "You're over here!" he called. "And I'm being nice!"

Aliara laughed. He was talking about strength.

"What about you?" Gon demanded with a pout.

Killua shrugged and moved the stick closer to Hanzo, but away from Gon's point. "About here," he said, but Aliara scoffed. She could tell what he was thinking.

"And how about Ali?" Gon countered.

Killua thought for a moment before he dragged the stick to a point in between his own and Gon's, then shifted it closer to his own. "About here."

Aliara snorted. "There's no way I'm weaker than you."

"Yes way," Killua retorted.

They were all bickering and walking for a while. Arguing about what made people strong, arguing about how to recognize other's strengths. Aliara sighed inwardly- she was only good at arguing, wasn't she?- when all three realized a simple fact.

"We don't have much money," Aliara summed up.

Gon nodded, turning out his pockets.

Killua grinned. "I know a place where we can fight and make money!"

Gon's mouth dropped open, but the girl's eyes widened. "I've heard of that place! Isn't it called Hell's Dungeon or something?"

Killua sweat-dropped. "Heaven's Arena," he said, smirking.

"Same difference," she grumbled.

"Not really," Gon supplied. Aliara glared daggers at him. But they pooled the remainder of their savings together, which was mostly the two boys (Aliara took nothing from home) and they caught a ship to the city that housed the Heaven's Arena. Aliara's fingers tingled with anticipation- for the training to win money, and the ship ride. She could work on her shoes again.

She hadn't touched her invention in months. She used the edge of her t-shirt to wipe the dust off before studying them. They suffered almost no damage, thank god. She was thinking of new things to add, but in all honesty, there wasn't enough space to add much else. Aliara frowned and fine-tuned the things that she had already installed, but already grew bored. _Maybe I can invent something else._

"Ne, Aliara," Gon said, "what can your shoes do?"

Her jaw dropped. It had just occurred to her that Gon really didn't know much about her footwear.

Killua and Gon watched with interest as she went through the functions she had put into her shoes with much time and effort. First were the wheels that popped out and worked as roller blades. Second were the spring pads. Third were the two dozen thin spikes that stabbed out from the bottom of the shoes. Fourth were long rods that poked out the front and had a hook attached.

The shoes were evidently taller than normal, with at least an extra inch under the heel of metal. But she had wrapped that using some of the fabric from her old shoe and rubber, so that the metal wouldn't be heard against the floor.

"They're so cool!" Gon cried, staring at them with wide eyes.

Aliara grinned wildly. "Thanks, Gon! I love them."

Killua picked up one and twirled it around in his hand. "The more I look at these, the cooler they get." Aliara's smile grew even wider, and Killua grinned back at her.

They all got off their ship and made their way through the crowded city to the Heaven's Arena, which could be easily spotted no matter where you were in the city. It was huge (Aliara guessed 250 floors, Killua laughed and said 251) (and no, he wasn't joking) and they found the front door.

"There's a line," she moaned in exasperation. Gon and Killua smirked at her, but they all lined up. After what seemed like hours, they got to the front of the line, and were handed a registration form. "Fighting experience?" Aliara mused.

Killua glanced at Gon. "I'm going to put ten years."

"I'm going with eight," Aliara decided. Gon watched them both before he shook his head with a smile. The three handed their forms in to the desk lady and went into the Heaven's Arena.

The arena was huge, with bleachers lining the walls and sixteen large platforms in the middle of the huge room. The bleachers weren't very full. Each platform had a fight going on, ranging from one-sided knock outs to incredibly tense duels. Nobody had any weapons. Aliara frowned- the form had said weapons weren't allowed until floor 200. That meant her shoes couldn't be used. She cursed.

"It's been a long time," Killua said absentmindedly.

"You've been here before?" Gon asked in surprise. Aliara raised her eyebrows- but it wasn't that shocking.

Killua nodded. "Yeah, my father sent me here when I was six and told me, 'you go to the 200th floor, then you can come back.' It took me two years." Aliara's eyes widened.

 _"Number 1973 and number 2055 to ring E, please!"_

"That's me!" Gon cried. "Ah, I'm nervous."

Aliara laughed. "You'll be fine!"

"You passed the test door, didn't you?" Killua said.

"Test door?"

The white-haired assassin ignored her and started talking to Gon again, which bothered her. Eventually, as Gon went down to his ring, Killua turned to her. "It's a gate outside my house. It weighs a lot. I can open it up to sixteen tons."

"That's a lot," Aliara said, raising her eyebrows. "I'm impressed."

Killua grinned, then they both turned to look down to ring E. Gon was standing against a tall, huge, pot-bellied man with bulging muscles. Gon looked like a toothpick next to him. "Will he be okay?" the black-haired girl asked, glancing down at Gon worriedly.

He grinned. "He'll be fine."

The crowd was jeering at the boy, telling him to back out. Aliara clenched her fists.

The man charged.

Gon ducked slightly to the side and slammed his palm into the man's stomach. To everyone's surprise (except Killua) the man was blasted backwards and out of the arena, and some people fighting on a nearby platform had to duck as he sailed past. Aliara laughed. He won.

 _"Number 2001 and number 2056 to ring C, please!"_

"That's me!" Aliara yelped in surprise. "My turn!"

"See you on the 50th floor," Killua said with a smirk. "That's what Gon got sent up to!"

Aliara nodded, and held up two fingers in a peace sign at Killua. "See you there!"

She found her platform. She climbed up on it, and the judge nodded to her in respect. She nodded back, holding a poker face. But in a black hoodie and blue jeans, she didn't look very intimidating at all. A huge man that looked like a body builder on steroids marched up on the platform. He had shaggy blond hair and a crooked grin, and was wearing only a tight white tank top and tight red shorts. Now _he_ looked intimidating.

He had a lot of fans, too. "Go, Leo!" roared some of the guys in the crowd. Girls were swooning. Aliara wrinkled up her nose- some people just had no taste.

"You sure you don't want to forfeit, little girl?" this man- Leo- crooned, cocking his head to one side as he flexed. Several girls screamed in the background. "It might be better for your health. I wouldn't want to kill you. You don't even have shoes on."

Aliara frowned- she'd taken them off because she wasn't allowed weapons. "I'll be fine," she assured him sarcastically. "I'd be more concerned about yourself."

His followers started to laugh at the absurdity of her remark. She frowned. The judge raised a hand. "Begin!"

Leo reared a huge fist back and charged forwards. "Don't say I didn't warn you!" he called out arrogantly, swinging.

Aliara grimaced. She _hated_ arrogant people.

She sidestepped the punch to the inside, and swung her bare left foot up between his legs. There was a large thwack (or maybe it was a crack) and then she walked backwards. He was basically frozen until a few seconds passed and Leo howled and toppled over, body crouched over his sensitive area. "AWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO," he moaned loudly, attracting a lot of unnecessary attention.

The judge paused, and looked between the two contestants. "You can go up to the 50th floor."

"Thank you," Aliara said politely, beaming. She walked over the man, taking great care to step down hard on his fingers as she walked by. She flashed a peace sign and an innocent grin at the crowd of dumbfounded followers before she made her way to the elevators.

 _Freedom is so much fun._

* * *

 **Night Owl:** Thank you so so much! :D

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 **Spirited Silver:** I appreciate that you're reading this just because I'm the writer! You should totally watch or read Hunter X Hunter. It's lots of fun, plenty of action, not romance centered and fantastically plotted. Thanks for the review!

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 **Thank you so so much for all the support- 12 chapters in and already over 50 followers. I really appreciate it, everyone. Thank you all so much for your reviews, follows, and favorites!~**


	14. Baron

**Chapter 14: Baron**

"This way, please," the guide said cheerfully as she led Aliara, Killua, and Gon down the hall. Killua had easily won his match as well, and they all traveled to the 50th floor together. The guide went on to explain how the floors worked, and how to move up floors and move back down. But Aliara was no longer listening- instead, she was brainstorming ideas for new things to build.

A hat? No, that would just be ridiculous.

A coat or shirt? Too much work and design- plus, it would be uncomfortable.

A belt? She didn't wear belts.

"Ali? Aliara?"

The idea hit her like a ton of bricks. Her emerald eyes widened and she threw her hands in the air. "Gloves!"

When she looked up again, Killua and Gon were staring at her with wide, confused eyes. There was another boy there too- dressed in a martial arts uniform with a tight belt. He had short brown hair and a stern expression, but he was the same height as the trio and looked to be the same age. _Where'd he come from?_

"What?" they said in unison.

"Gloves," Aliara repeated.

"...Are we supposed to understand that?" Killua asked slowly.

Aliara nailed a fist down on Killua's head. "No, idiot! I was thinking of new things to build, and I decided on gloves! They're going to be so cool!" Little sparkles lit up her eyes. "I could have a mini gun on the back! Or, or have built-in equipment! Or..." She trailed off, remembering the arrival of the new boy. "Wait, who're you?"

Gon and Killua both face-palmed. "Zushi," he said, a bit taken aback. "Nice to meet you."

Aliara waved brightly. "Aliara, builder extraordinaire." She stuck out a hand, and the boy tentatively shook it, slightly overwhelmed. She grinned at him. The three boys looked at her with puzzled expressions and she pumped a fist in the air. "Gloves are going to be so, so, SO cool!"

"She's a happy person," Zushi remarked.

Killua and Gon both laughed. "You caught her in a good mood," Gon said brightly. "She's rarely ever in a good mood!"

"Mostly when she's talking about building stuff," Killua added with a smile. God, she was so happy...

"Say," Zushi said quietly, "Why aren't you wearing shoes?"

The three exchanged a smirk and burst into laughter that Zushi didn't really understand. He shrugged, faked a chuckle, then frowned. "I don't get it." This made Aliara, Killua, and Gon laugh even harder.

Aliara wiggled her toes, giggling. "Nothing to worry about."

"She's pretty stupid like that," Killua snickered. The black-haired girl glared at him, her happy mood vanishing faster than they could blink.

"So, tell me what dojos you come from," Zushi said seriously, ignoring their inside joke, and as Aliara blinked in confusion he threw his hands out in a defensive stance that she recognized from her tedious training sessions. "Personally, I come from the kung-fu Shingen dojo!"

Aliara exchanged a wary look with Gon as Killua said, "We don't really have one..."

"WHAT?!" Zushi cried out, flabbergasted, before he bowed to them again. "To be able to reach such a high level without being guided... That's a real shock to me. I have a lot of work to do."

The black-haired assassin, surprisingly, found herself blushing under the praise. "Th- Thank you," she said, smiling sheepishly.

"Zushi! That's good!" A tall man with thinning black hair, glasses, and an shirt that was half neat, half messy. Aliara cocked her head to the side. "You followed my teaching well," the man said cheerily as he clapped his hands.

Zushi frowned. "That's an honor. Master, your shirt is..."

Glasses Man gasped and grabbed the edge of his rumpled shirt. "Ah, sorry!" He glanced up. "And at your sides?"

By the time Aliara had figured out what he meant, Zushi had already introduced them. "This is Gon-san, Killua-san, and Aliara-san."

"Nice to meet you," Glasses Man said with a smile, "I'm Wing."

"A pleasure!" Killua and Gon chimed, and they both took up the same stance that Zushi had before. Aliara blinked, trying to comprehend the situation. New people were coming in so fast. Why were they doing some stance? Respect? Was this man trustworthy?

With a scowl on her face, Aliara crossed her arms. She didn't know if she could trust them yet.

Glasses Man, who's real name was Wing, glanced over at her, and for a split second his gaze hardened. Aliara held his gaze, but he broke it off just as quickly before turning around to walk. Killua and Gon jogged after him, and with a sigh, Aliara followed. "I never thought I would see other kids like Zushi. Why are you here?"

"Well," Gon hummed, "to get stronger, but..."

"We're out of money," Killua admitted.

"And we want to earn some," Aliara finished, not wanting to be left out. "Killua's been here already though."

Wing nodded thoughtfully. "Ah... If you came this far, then you must be strong. Then you should take care of yourselves and also your adversaries." Aliara almost snorted. What was he, their teacher, all of a sudden?!

They all made it to the cash desk together, and the lady behind it held out four small envelopes. They all ripped them open, and small coins plunked out. Aliara stared at them- she'd been so used to bills all her life, and seeing coins again was strange. It was enough for a drink, she noticed. Killua started talking about the different money rewards one could get per floor level. Aliara's interest was piqued when Killua mentioned ten million on the 150th floor.

"You went to floor 200, right, Killua?" Aliara hummed.

"Two hundred?!" Zushi gasped.

"What did you do with all that money?!" Gon spluttered.

Killua shrugged. "I don't have the money anymore. I spent it all on candy." A dreamy look passed over his face.

Gon and Zushi's faces went completely blank.

Aliara's eyes bugged out of her head. "You spent that much on _candy?!"_ Killua nodded, grinning. "What kind of candy was it?"

The white-haired boy grinned widely. "You know those little chocolates-"

"So much candy," Zushi whispered.

"Anyways," Killua continued, ruffling his hair like nothing had happened as Gon and Zushi continued to gape at him, "How about we hurry up a bit? Since we weren't injured in the first match, they'll plan another match for us for sure today."

"Sounds good," Aliara replied, smirking. The four of them continued down the hallway, Wing long gone, and found the waiting room. The room was filled with tall, not-really-intimidating people.

But Aliara's first observation was that there were no girls. She rolled her eyes.

The four sat down on a bench, more than aware that everyone's eyes were on them. Gon started sweating nervously, as did Zushi. Aliara exhaled slowly. She'd had so much practice at home with dealing with people who thought they were the best, or thought they were some big shot. _You keep your cool. You don't give them the satisfaction of seeing that they're scaring you. Because, they're not._

She crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed her feet. Killua started talking to Gon, but she turned to Zushi.

"I'm sorry," she apologized quietly, and the short-haired boy looked at her in surprise. "That was rude of me not to answer your question about my lack of shoes."

"Not at all," he dismissed. "I understand if you don't want to talk about it."

Aliara laughed. "No, nothing like that." She smiled down at her feet. "I only have one pair of shoes, and I built them myself, so they've got a bunch of modifications that I made. They're considered weapons, so I can't wear them around."

Zushi nodded. "That makes sense. Can I see them some time?"

She beamed. "Of course!"

There was a click over the intercom, and two burly men were called to the 55th floor. They left quickly. Then, the intercom crackled again. "Killua-san," said a female voice.

Killua stood up, grinning. "I'm up." Aliara smiled up at him- that smile was contagious.

"And Zushi-san, 57th floor, room A."

Zushi's face visibly paled as he bowed, shaking, to Killua. The two boys said good bye to Gon and Aliara and left. Aliara couldn't help but wonder if she would be facing Gon. She prayed she wasn't.

"Ne, Aliara," Gon said quietly, "are you nervous?"

Aliara looked up in surprise, then decided it was best not to lie to the boy. "A bit."

"Why?"

She flicked her long black bangs out of her eyes and smiled softly her friend. "I'm just nervous I'm going to get left behind by you two. You guys are getting stronger crazy fast, and I've been slacking off. I don't know if I can keep up."

Gon smiled back, his smile broad. "I'm sure you'll be fine. You're nearly as strong as Killua, aren't you?"

"I like to think so," she agreed, but was interrupted by another crackle on the intercom.

"Aliara-san and Baron-san, to the 52nd floor, room B."

"That's me," Aliara said, eyes sparkling. "See you up there, Gon."

"Good luck, Ali!" Gon called as she left with a wave.

Baron, who followed her out the door, was snickering loudly. He was bald, and not very muscular, but instead was incredibly lean. He had a tattoo on his chest that read, 'No pain, no gain' and another tattoo of a skull on his bicep. He only wore long green and neon yellow shorts and bulky runners. He scared the hell out of her- he was really creepy. But, because he was skinny and not as muscular, he was probably fast.

"Get ready to get pummeled, girly," he cackled on the elevator ride up. "You'll never keep up with me."

Aliara raised her eyebrows. _He's fast. This'll be a good chance to see how fast I really am._ "Okay," she said absentmindedly, already forgetting what Baron said. His cackling faltered slightly.

They reached the correct floor, and split up to the separate entrances to the arena. Aliara took a deep breath, and marched in. She didn't expect there to be so many people- at least a couple hundred, if not a thousand, and her nerves amplified. The crowd was roaring loudly, which didn't help either. God, she wished she had ear plugs, or headphones, or something.

Baron was walking out across from her, waving to the crowd and soaking up the cheers. Aliara resisted an eye roll.

"Ladies and gentlemen," someone called out, "welcome to the match between Baron and Aliara!" The voice was so... so happy-go-lucky that it instantly bothered her. "But don't underestimate Aliara! She won her first match within several seconds with a devastating kick to the groin. She's trouble!"

Aliara didn't even try to resist and rolled her eyes, jamming her hands into her pockets.

"But Baron is nasty! This man used lightning quick techniques and rocket fire punches to knock out his opponent in round one, bringing him immediately here! He is not to be underestimated either!" Baron cackled loudly, winking at several ladies in the ground.

"He's not even good looking," Aliara said out loud in disbelief. Thank god, he didn't hear her.

"Let's commence the betting!"

 _Betting?_

The score boards lit up, and Aliara almost laughed. For every one person that voted for her, another eight voted for Baron. The ratio was 8:1. Ouch.

"Looks like Baron is the favorite. Alright, three round of three minutes! Let's begin!"

Baron punched his hands together and charged at Aliara. He was fast, she would give him that. But he had nothing on any of her siblings- or her, for that matter. "You don't stand a chance, little girl!" he cried. He drew one fist back in a punch, but she sidestepped and stuck out a foot.

The bald man tripped over her foot and was sent sprawling across the arena mat, tumbling, then rolled to a stop and hopped to his feet, scowling. Aliara grinned cheekily. "Hi, I'm the 'little girl'," she mocked. "And I'm about to kick your ass."

The crowd howled in laughter, at Baron's expense, and the man gritted his teeth, growling.

"Aliara's mocking her opponent! Is that smart?" the commentator asked.

 _Very. Very smart._ Aliara grinned, clenching her hands in her pockets. _The angrier he is, the more reckless he is, and the more mistakes he'll make, and the sloppier he'll get._

Baron let out a roar and charged again, punching for her head, but slowing himself down. That was fine, because Aliara didn't plan to trip him again. She ducked under his punch and shifted to the outside, pulled her hands out of her pockets, and then proceeded to grab his arm and twist it towards his head.

There was crack, Baron screamed, and Aliara gripped his arm and pushed it down towards the floor. His arm was locked up and he couldn't free himself, and Baron's head was smashed off the floor. Aliara let go. He was knocked out.

The judge hurried over and confirmed it. Baron was KO'd.

"And the match goes to Aliara!" the lady in the booth cried out wildly, the crowd roaring. "It's an upset!"

"It's also incredibly one-sided," Aliara grumbled, strolling away, hands back in her pockets. She walked out of the arena, smirking slightly as the cheers faded behind her, and then squealed to herself, punching her fists in the air.

That was _so_ much fun.

And she wanted to do that again.

* * *

 **Night Owl:** Aw, thank you so so much! :D

 **G:** Thank you! :D


	15. Fights

**Chapter 15: Fights**

Aliara collected her winnings, a grand total of 60 000 jennis (pocket change, for someone of her background) and plopped herself down on a small bench outside the desk lady's booth. She had recollected her bag after her fight and dove a hand inside, rummaging through it. _I swear I had it. I know I had it. I'm positive I packed it. Where- Yes! I have it!_

The black-haired girl tugged free and small sketchbook from the depths of her bag. The book's black cover was crumpled and torn, but she didn't seem to mind. She flipped through the scrawled pages until she could find a blank one, then dug into her bag and pulled out a pencil.

Darn it. That pencil was broken.

She dropped it back in her bag and fished out a new one, that thankfully, wasn't broken.

Then, Aliara started to sketch.

Her sketches were rough, dark, and messy, with crossed out ideas and arrows pointing this way and that. She drew and she labelled and she brainstormed, the sketch finally taking the form of a finger-less glove. Her scribbles were a language only she could understand, not that she minded- now Killua and Gon would have a more difficult time trying to snoop through her stuff.

"Ali!"

Aliara's head snapped up, and within the time span of a few seconds, she had closed her sketchbook, shoved it into her bag along with the pencil, and zipped the bag closed. "Hey, Gon!" she called, and the boy bounded over, grinning wildly.

"I won!" he shouted out. "I just pushed him, and then he flew out of the arena and got knocked out!"

Aliara held up her hand and the two shared a high-five. "That's awesome, Gon. I won too."

"Yes!" Gon pumped a fist in the air. "Now we just have to wait for Killua."

"You can get your winnings at the desk," she noted, jabbing her thumb at the desk. Gon dashed over, grinning, and started talking to the desk lady. Aliara rolled his eyes at his eagerness and tossed her backpack over her shoulder.

It seemed to take forever for Killua to finally come out of his arena. Gon hopped up to meet him, Aliara trailing behind. "Over here!" he called.

"You took a while," Aliara said with a smirk that quickly faded when she saw Killua's thoughtful and frustrated expression. "Was Zushi really that good?"

"No," the white-haired boy said slowly, glaring at the ground. "He's talented, and he'll be really strong some day, but he still lacks too much, and his punches were really slow." Aliara snorted- for Killua, 'slow' could mean moderately fast. "I could hit him as much as I wanted. But for some reason, I couldn't crush him."

"Eh?" Gon and Aliara said in unison.

"Plus," Killua added, ignoring them, "when he changed his guard, I got the same impression as if I were fighting my brother."

Gon's eyes widened. "Illumi?" Aliara questioned angrily, remembering the asshole of a brother that fought against Killua in the Hunter exam.

Killua nodded. "Yeah. I can't really say what, but there's a particular technique under this." His eyes flickered, and he looked up at Aliara and Gon with a confused expression. "His master talked about ren."

"Ren," Aliara repeated, rolling the word off her tongue.

"I'm changing my plans," the male assassin decided. "I'm aiming for the top."

The flutter in Aliara's stomach welcomed the challenge and the suspense and anticipation that would come trying to get there. "I'm in," she said, grinning wildly, already picturing her next fight.

"Then let's go," Gon declared. "Let's get to our next matches!"

The trio dashed for the elevator, arguing with each other about who reached the elevator first or who got the honor of pressing the button. They were all acting just like kids again, and Aliara loved every second of it, even if the two boys annoyed her to no end. She was the first out of the elevator (no, it wasn't Killua, no matter what he says) and they all registered for her next match.

The opponent's name was Muron, and he was as stupid as they come.

The odds, again, were six to one. Muron was tall, well-built, and had evidently been training for years, but didn't have an ounce of brain in his head. Unfortunately for him, all it took was a kick the the groin and he was down and out for the count. Despite the speed of the battle, Aliara's butterflies went wild; this was incredibly thrilling and so much fun.

She glanced up at the cheering crowd. God, she LOVED this.

Three days passed, and she kept fighting, making through every fight without a scratch. When she finished, Aliara would look up at the screens positioned high in the arena and see Gon and Killua successfully completing their matches, also without injury.

"Killua, with the sharp of hand," the announcer screamed after her sixth successful match, "Gon, pushing them out of the ring. Aliara, kicking them to the dust in one hit! How far will these three go?! And who will stop them?!"

Aliara grinned. She dared someone to try.

* * *

Once they reached floor 100, they all got their own rooms. It was small, quaint, and much more simple than Aliara was used to.

And she _loved_ it.

"We don't have to worry about money or houses anymore," Gon said happily, bouncing on his own bed in his room. She and Killua had left their own rooms temporarily to join his. "This is great!"

"It is," Aliara agreed, grinning wildly. "This is fantastic!"

Killua rolled his eyes. "You know, from the 100th floor, if you lose, you have to leave your room."

"Torture," Aliara whispered dramatically.

The white-haired boy looked at her, poker-faced, before his adorable face split into a grin. "Anyways. There's a big difference between getting to the 100th floor and staying on it. The welcome you receive when you clear the 100th floor is a lot better than before. So, everyone is ready to do everything they can to keep what they won."

Aliara and Gon nodded along, allowing Killua to further explain. "Obviously, no one wants to lose," he continued. "And a lot of people that are here have become masters of the ability of surviving a long time. If you show even the smallest weakness to these kind of guys, it'll definitely be quick."

On that happy note, he glanced at Aliara. "So keep your guard up!"

"Why are you looking at me?" Aliara protested.

"You'll probably get cocky," Killua said plainly.

Aliara huffed angrily, punching Killua in the shoulder. "Says you, ghost boy!"

"Oi!"

* * *

 _Maybe I got worried for nothing,_ Killua thought with a sigh as he watched Aliara kick a short man precisely in the back of the next with her bare feet and send him crashing to the floor. _Everyone's either scared of her or admiring her._

* * *

"Rewards for the designated fights have been moved to your accounts," said the desk lady cheerfully as she handed each Killua, Gon, and Aliara a small receipt. The three said their thanks and wander off.

Gon stared at his receipt in fascination. "I've never seen so many numbers," he said, awe-struck. Aliara laughed.

Killua grinned at the both of them. "Can you believe that one week ago we were out of money?" His expression softened. "But I'm kinda surprised."

"Why?" the dark-haired boy put in.

"The first time I came here, it took me two weeks to reach the 150th floor," he grumbled.

Aliara rolled her eyes. Of _course_ Killua was a prodigy, even as a child.

"You were only six," Gon said, shaking his head.

"By the way," Aliara mused, "I saw one of the televisions the other day. Zushi's still on the 50th floor. He hasn't moved up."

"I saw that too," the boy in green said, nodding.

"Me too," Killua said, and they all fell into silence, thinking the same thing. What was this 'ren' thing? Was it powerful? Dangerous? Gon started talking about it, wondering what it could be. Aliara scrunched up her face in concentration. She was _sure_ she'd heard the term somewhere before.

"If we go higher," Killua stated, "I'm sure we'll find more people who know what it is." Aliara nodded along.

Gon frowned. "Wouldn't it be faster if we just asked Zushi?"

Killua's face blanked, and Aliara face-palmed. Leave it to Gon to point out the most obvious and easiest option.

And with that, the trio started their adventure (if you could call it that) to find Zushi. And figure out what this 'ren' thing was.

* * *

 **SpiritedSilver:** You're going to find ouuuuuut!~ Thanks for the review!

 **Night Owl:** Oh my god, thank you so much! :D

 **Filler chapter. I'm sorry.**

 **HUGE headcanon that Aliara never sharpens her pencils after she breaks them. Huge.**

 **Wait, this is my story, isn't it? That's means it's true. Okay.**


	16. Paranoid

**Chapter 16: Paranoid**

"Ren is one of the four basic principles of the big training," Zushi said in a teaching tone. The three had easily tracked him down and demanded (kindly, of course) that he tell them what he meant when he was talking with Wing about ren. "The four principles of the training are basis of every fighting technique relying on spirit elevation, and it's hardening." Aliara was about to ask something when he continued. "Finding 'ten', learning 'zetsu', succeeding 'ren', and reaching 'hatsu'."

He clapped his hands together. "All these form the 'nen' practice!"

 _"I didn't understand anything!"_ Killua and Aliara demanded in unison, glaring down at Zushi, who was squirming under their gaze.

"Zushi!" someone called, and the trio (plus Zushi) looked over to see Wing walking towards them, his gaze neutral. "Since when have you become strong enough to teach others what I have taught you?"

"Euh-" Zushi stuttered, face flaming.

"Gon, Killua, Aliara," Wing greeted, glancing at them all, "there's an old saying, 'we understand even less of things when we have half of the information than when we don't have any at all'."

Aliara rubbed her ears. That made _no_ sense.

"'Nothing is more dangerous than half knowledge', eh?" Killua rephrased, jamming his hands in his pockets. "But I want to know!" _Same,_ Aliara thought with a mental sigh. "Because there's a relation between this and my brother's secret." _Okay, not so same._

"You mean your brother uses nen?" Wing asked, surprised.

Killua nodded, "yep. Would you mind teaching it to me now?"

Aliara's jaw dropped. How the hell could he trust this guy?

"Anyways, if you don't want to, I'll discover it and learn it myself," the white-haired boy said with a sigh. "But I won't be content with half knowledge. I want to understand everything. If you accept me and teach me, I won't misuse it."

"Hold it," she finally intervened, crossing her arms in front of her in an X. "Time out."

The three boys and the adult all turned to her. Killua looked confused.

"And you know we can trust this Wing guy how?!" she demanded, placing her hands on her hips angrily. "No offense," Aliara added quickly, waving a disinterested hand in his direction, still glaring at Killua.

He glared at her. "Well, who else are you going to find to teach us?"

"Like you said," Aliara snapped, "we can discover it on our own."

Gon frowned. "I think he's telling the truth. I don't think Zushi's lying."

"It's not about whether they're lying or not!" the black-haired girl cried out in exasperation, pulling at the ends of her bangs. "It's about whether we can trust them!" _Will these two idiots never understand?!_

"If you decide to trust me," Wing mused, apparently only entertained by the argument. "Come to my flat." He handed Gon a card that had the address of his flat on it and the boy accepted it gingerly, putting it in his pocket. Aliara fumed angrily as Zushi awkwardly slid away after his master, leaving the three angry kids (well, two and Gon) to argue with each other.

"I," Aliara declared angrily, clenching and releasing her fists, "am going to my room." She hiked her bag up over her shoulder and stormed towards the elevator, stomping her footsteps heavily as she went. Many people stepped out of the way, wisely.

Killua frowned. "Ali-"

"Just leave her," Gon advised, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "She needs some time alone."

He sighed. "Whatever."

The two boys started walking to an elevator on the opposite side of the hall.

* * *

Aliara had made it to her tiny, quaint little room and screamed angrily into her pillow before beating it with her fists. Killua and Gon just made her _so mad_ sometimes. She punched the pillow again furiously before screaming in agitation and tossing it across the room.

"AAAAAAAGH!" she cried out, slamming her fist on the desk in her room.

There was a crack and the wood split cleanly in two, and the desk fell to the floor. Aliara paused, staring at the broken desk, then shrugged nonchalantly. She would pay for it, no problem.

She was glad she did that. Aliara just needed to break something. Then she could calm down.

 _Deep breaths. Deeeeep breaths._

 _Why the hell are Gon and Killua so trusting?!_

She groaned and smacked her head off the wall.

 _They could be leading us into a trap. Or trying to trick us. Or they might recognize me and think they could send me back for money-_

Aliara jolted upright.

Why the hell was she so selfish? Honestly. "I'm being selfish," she chided, sitting down on her bed. Then, she frowned. "No, I'm not. I have every right to be angry or frustrated and cautious at the moment."

Aliara sighed as she flopped back on her bed. Internal battles were the worst.

There was a knock at her door and Aliara jumped. She hadn't even heard the person coming. Maybe it was Killua. "What'd you want?" she called out, crossing her arms over her chest.

Killua pushed open the door (how rude, not even asking permission) before shutting it behind him, his expression neutral. He looked around the room and his gorgeous blue eyes fell on the broken desk. "Are you going to try and hit me?" he questioned like it was every day conversation.

"No," she said with a sigh, "just the desk."

"I see," Killua said, eyes not wavering from the desk until he turned back to Aliara. He walked over and sat next to her on her bed. Aliara's head heated up- he was so bold! Just... inviting himself to sit down like that! She was restraining herself from strangling him right then and there.

"Do you like your room?" he said suddenly.

Aliara shrugged, fuming. "It's nice," she said shortly.

Killua shrugged right back. "A bit different from your old room?"

"A bit," Aliara said, glaring at the ground. What the hell was he trying to do?

"I think we can trust Wing," Killua said after a while of silence. "Besides, what could he possibly do? We're skilled. We could sense if there was a trap."

"He knows this nen thing," she shot back in retaliation. "It gives him an advantage."

The boy shrugged. "All the more reason to be trained by him."

Aliara blinked. She had walked right into that one. She wouldn't have been surprised if Killua was preparing that in advance. Huffing, she scuffed her shoes against the ground. "I don't care. It's not safe."

"Why are you so paranoid?" Killua interrupted, glaring at her. "You're never going to get stronger if you're suspicious of everyone you meet!"

"And we're going to continuously walk into traps and get injured if we're not!" she retorted angrily. "Killua, I know you're the kind of person that makes a plan before he follows through. Well, plan this out, work through possibilities, and then try to convince me that this is 100% trustworthy."

He stood up from the bed, fixing his cold blue gaze on her. She stood up too. "What the hell are you worried about?!" he shouted.

"Being led into something we shouldn't be a part of," Aliara snapped with a groan. "That's what I've been telling you!"

"It's about your family, isn't it?"

There was a silence. Aliara blinked rapidly. Oh, he _went_ there.

"You're scared you're going to be recognized," Killua explained fiercely, using sharp hand gestures. "And then you're going to get called in to go back home. And that you'll be stuck at home forever."

"It's not a home," she said quietly, but Killua was still ranting.

"Well, Ali," he snarled, getting more into the argument the longer it went on, "you need to realize that you're going to be recognized. And instead of hiding and avoiding opportunities, you can get it together and get stronger and face them instead. That way, you don't have to hide anymore."

That was when the temper she had been trying to keep in check exploded. Then, Aliara found herself yelling. "That's not it!" she screeched, lying, her face heating up. "Killua, you don't understand. At all! That's not it. I just-"

"What?" Killua said heavily. "You just, what?"

Her words dried on her tongue.

"That's what I thought."

"Get out."

He blinked his wide eyes. "Huh?"

"Get out."

Killua seemed to suddenly feel a bit guilty for what he said (about time) and he frowned. "Ali-"

"Get out," she breathed, "or else I am going to hit you and it's not going to be pretty."

 _You could try,_ the white-haired boy found himself thinking. But Aliara was shaking, most likely from anger by the way she clenched her fists furiously and glared at the floor. "GET OUT!" she roared, "and just go to Wing yourslef!" Killua slowly took his exit, shutting the door closed behind him gently, avoiding eye contact completely with Aliara. She fumed angrily as she watched the door close.

Aliara ran to the door and pushed against it, just making sure it was definitely shut. She turned her back to the door, sighing, and slumped against it, sitting down with the door at her back.

Then she tucked her knees to her chest and buried her head in her arms, tears only moments away from falling.

* * *

Killua let out a slow breath and fell against her door, sliding to the ground, sitting, tilting his head to the ground. What the hell had he just said?

* * *

They both leaned backwards, their backs against the same door, neither of them realizing how much they had just hurt the other.

* * *

 **itzamarmeza:** THANK YOU!~ :D

 **Night Owl:** Thank you so much!~ :)

 **^^going to do all review replies here now, to make things easier!~**

 **Next chapter will be delayed- I'm away all of next weekend, no wifi in sight. Thank you for your patience!~**


	17. Hisoka

**Chapter 17: Hisoka**

Aliara huffed and angrily wiped her hands at her cheeks, ashamed that she was crying over a stupid little argument. Five minutes passed before she pushed herself up from the door, heaved a deep breath, and pulled the door open.

Nope. He was gone.

What did that stupid Killua know anyways? Nothing!

Aliara sighed and fell down on her bed. "Idiot," she grumbled to the ceiling. The ceiling gave no response. Typical.

It took fifteen minutes of complaining, sighing, and huffing before Aliara pulled herself together. She grabbed the end of her long black ponytail and wrapped it up so it sat high on her head, then pulled her black hoodie up and over her hair. Aliara grabbed her backpack and tossed it over her shoulder, jostling everything inside. She put on her shoes- god, such an amazing feeling- and left her room, making her way down to the lady by the elevator.

"How can I help you?" she said cheerily.

"I'd like to take out some money," Aliara replied formally, handing the lady her ID card.

The conversation and retrieval of her money took a few minutes, but soon, Aliara was walking away with 100 000 jennis in her pocket. Springing slightly in her steps, Aliara left the Heaven's Arena building and made her way to the streets. Specifically, the shops.

 _I'm going to get me some gloves,_ she thought giddily.

The first shop had the worst quality she had ever seen. That, and the gloves weren't fingerless. Or stretchy. Or anything. She wanted fingerless.

The second shop was much more promising- black, stretchable, fingerless gloves that fit snug around her hand when she tried them on. Aliara bought two pairs, in case one didn't work out or she added too much that she wanted more material to cover. The shopkeeper was very happy with the amount of money she traded for the gloves, and Aliara left with a grin on her hooded face.

Next, the mechanics shop.

Heaven.

Aliara moved quickly and quietly, probably buying some things that she didn't need, but still gathering all the necessities nonetheless. All while keeping careful count of how much money she was spending. Aliara would see something, an idea would form, and she'd have to buy it- then, go back and grab some more stuff that could be used. She'd probably forget some of the ideas she had for later, but she'd probably remember them. Probably.

After grabbing a huge spool of wire, Aliara plunked all her items carefully on the counter. The pile got higher as she pulled more stuff out of her arms, and the grumpy shopkeeper behind the counter's eyes widened.

"Shopping for your daddy, lil miss?" he grunted as she continued throwing stuff on the counter.

Aliara scowled, peeved that the man could still recognize her as a girl, and didn't answer, gently placing the last of her metal bits on the table.

The man sighed, shook his head, and checked for the price. He laughed, "that's 75 000 jennis, lil miss. You can't-"

She tossed 76 000 jennis on the counter. The man's jaw slipped slightly, and she started pulling all of the items into her bag. Despite the large amount, they all fit (barely) and she zipped the heavy bag shut. "Keep the change," she told the bewildered man before she pushed her way out of the store. He made a choking sound as the door swung shut behind her.

Believing that these parts were all she needed, Aliara turned around and started heading back to the Heaven's Arena, already eager to start assembling her gloves, until she saw a flash of silver hair. _Killua!_

Instincts took over and she dashed into an alley, before stopping and turning. Killua and Gon were chatting happily, moving in the direction that she had come. Aliara scowled. That idiot!

And why the hell was she so concerned for him, anyways?

She was about to leave when she heard more footsteps. Aliara groaned inwardly as two men blocked the exit of the alleyway. What the hell?

"Is this her?" one of them grunted.

The other one nodded. "Yeah, I remember her."

Fear coursed through Aliara's veins. Did they know her last name? Were they going to try and send her back? Did this mean that her mother put out ransoms for her? Did-

"She's the loaded one from the shop," one of the men, a tall and skinny black-haired man, said.

She breathed a sigh of relief, and started connecting faces- they were customers from the shop. "Listen, girly," the second one, a short, pudgy blond man scowled, "give us the rest of your money. A little girl like yourself shouldn't be carrying so much."

Aliara rolled her eyes as the men took some steps forward. She didn't move.

"We saw more in yur pockets," the black-haired one crooned, reaching out a hand greedily. "Just be nice and we won't have to hurt you-"

Aliara gasped comically at the empty air behind the two goons. They both turned, thinking there was something there, even though there wasn't. By the time they'd turned around, Aliara had switched her shoes to 'spring mode' with a click of her wrist watch and had leaped out of the alley, using her already-impressive muscles and the springs in the shoes to easily clear the building.

The men were flabbergasted. She waved to them from the roof. "Bye! Nice talking to you!" before she set her shoes on roller blades and started skating across the rooftops. "Idiots," she chuckled and she leaped over the gap between two buildings, "they fell for the obvious distraction bit!"

Aliara made it back to her room in the Heaven's Arena with no further problems. The elevator ride was smooth. Several people shot her odd looks but she brushed them all off. Only when she was in the safety of her room did she spill the contents of her bag over the floor.

She started working.

* * *

A week later, she, Killua, and Gon had blasted through the remaining floors up to 200. She had no difficulties securing her wins. _I don't need nen,_ she argued to herself as she kicked her last opponent squarely in the sternum, blasting him out of the arena. _I'm doing fine._

In the last week, she had deliberately avoided Killua. Gon had been by her room twice. They had spent their time together laughing, recounting fights and describing their opponents in detail. He hadn't mentioned Killua at all, and Aliara was incredibly grateful. He was probably expecting them to make up on their own, which probably wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

Aliara found her elevator and pressed the 200 button with her thumb. The doors shut, and she felt herself being lifted, before the elevator beeped again and she marched out-

-only to find Gon and Killua coming out of the elevator next to her.

She narrowed her eyes at the silver-haired assassin as his widened in surprise. "Aliara," he said in surprise.

Gon grinned. "Ali!" he darted forward, waving excitedly. "Aren't you excited?"

She couldn't help it, because Gon's attitude was contagious. Her face split into a grin. "Yeah," Aliara said, smiling at the eager boy. "We're almost at the top!"

"Ali," Killua said again. He didn't look worried, or upset, or anything at all.

Aliara, in her not-so brightest moment, ignored him completely. "Let's go," she said to Gon, and they started moving, following the arrows that hung from the ceiling. The frustration practically rolled off Killua, and Aliara felt it; but he moved to the other side of Gon as they progressed down the hallway.

Then came a deserted corridor.

A deserted corridor that radiated murderous energy.

"Let's go," Killua scowled, and he started surging forwards. Aliara scrunched up her face and followed, Gon by her side. It was when the aura around the hallway started getting dark, and soon, it was too much energy.

They couldn't move.

Aliara was the furthest down the hallway. Killua stood a few feet behind her, and Gon right behind him. But none of them could move. Someone was there. "Show yourself!" Aliara hollered, glaring down the hallway.

To the trio's surprise, a receptionist wandered out. "Killua, Gon, and Aliara, are you not? The reception is on the other side." She gestured to her right, down the hall. "Please register today for the matches on the 200th floor. You have until midnight tonight. Please respect this timetable or else your registration will be refused."

Aliara was about to protest when there was a small ticking sound behind her. She turned- the clock had flashed to 8:12.

They had three hours and forty-eight minutes to go down a hallway?

"Actually, 172 candidates are registered on the 200th floor and waiting. Moreover, weapons are allowed from this floor and up. You're free to carry some."

Weapons? "Did you say weapons?!" Aliara whispered, her face splitting into a huge smile. Reflexively, she turned to Gon and Killua. Gon grinned back at her. Killua's face widened too, and he was smiling. She remembered their current situation and turned around, huffing, her face red.

The smile on her face made Killua's night. She was so damn excited, and she should be- she could put her invention to use. He felt bad for arguing with her, and she'd been ignoring him for a while. Why the hell was she so stubborn?

"Yes, weapons," the receptionist said with a faint smile. "Another thing: from now on, you won't be given anymore rewards. Fights are now on honor, and the participation gives only personal satisfaction."

Then, the atmosphere chilled, and someone walked out from behind the wall.

Aliara wanted to gag. It was Hisoka, standing in a traditional jester outfit, with his pinkish red hair slicked back behind his head. He saw the trio and licked his lips, and Aliara shuddered.

"Hisoka!" the three cried in unison, glaring heavily at the clown.

"What are you doing here?" demanded Gon.

"Why are you so surprised?" Hisoka murmured, glancing at the boy. "This is the capital of fights, and I love fights. I should be the one asking you, shouldn't I?" He licked his lips again. "It's not just a coincidence, I was waiting for you three."

Aliara's eyes widened, but the jester wasn't done. "You obtained your flying tickets thanks to the electronic network, didn't you? With some manipulation, it's easy to find where, when, and how somebody moves. Next, I used a private plane and arrived before you at the airport, where I followed you. I was thinking you would come here.

"But, as an elder, I'm going to teach you something," he mused, holding up a hand at them. "It's still too soon for you to walk on the ground of this floor."

With only a wave of his hand, the three dropped to their knees. The huge weight of pressure fell on top of Aliara, and she didn't know what it was, or how the hell Hisoka could use it.

 _Is this nen?_

"As for the size of the pit you have to cross, that depends on you." Hisoka sat down, cross-legged, at the end of the hallway. "Come back another time, but now it's too soon."

"Are you kidding?!" Killua demanded. "We've made it here..."

"You won't pass," Hisoka cooed, waving his hand as the invisible wall of pressure pushed Aliara away from the clown. "Actually, you can't pass."

Aliara gritted her teeth. "Are you f-"

"Don't insist."

Aliara wanted to groan- it was Wing. What impeccable timing.

"In front of his nen, you have almost no defense," the teacher said pointedly, "you're like someone in the ice flow who asks themselves why he or she is so cold. If you make your body and spirit endure any more than this, you will, inevitably, die."

"You're saying it's some nen, aren't you?!" Killua demanded angrily. "That he only has to think, 'you won't pass', and the result is that?! Liar!"

Wing shrugged. "Well, I admit I lied."

"Told you," Aliara announced loudly, glaring at Killua.

"It-" he objected.

Wing cut him off. "I'm going to explain the real nen to you. But let's start by leaving this place."

Everyone froze. "Oh, hell no," Aliara murmured. She whirled around to the reception lady. "What happens if we don't register for our fights by midnight?" she demanded, glancing at the clock. 8:20.

"You and Gon would have to restart from the first floor," she replied patiently. "But Killua has already refused entry once. He would be unable to register again, because it would be seen as an opposition of the registration."

Aliara groaned inwardly. As mad as she was at that stupid boy, she couldn't leave him like that.

"Can we be back by midnight?" Killua said fiercely.

"It all depends on you," Wing said thoughtfully.

Aliara punched herself in the arm and groaned aloud. If she wanted to go forward, she had to do exactly what she'd been harking at Killua not to do.

Trust Wing.

Dammit.

* * *

 **Wow, we made it to over 100 reviews! Thank you all so much for the support on the argument last chapter, I wasn't sure how well that would blow over. Thank you so so much!**

 **Night Owl:** Thanks so much, I can totally empathize with the characters too XD

 **Tawnypelt37:** Thanks for the review! Yes, they totally got really into it. They better make it up.

 **havanatitiana:** They're both a bit stubborn, so it may be a while before they make up. Aliara's not the kind to suck up her pride XD I agree, the argument could've been longer, but I was fighting for what to say. Thanks for the review!~

 **itzamarmeza:** Definitely an interesting idea. I would totally be down for it... Actually, I've got an idea where I can make it work. Thank you! :D

 **masoliki1:** Thank you so so much! :D

 **Hope10032:** I was thinking of the Frozen scene while I was writing, and it actually made me laugh- which it shouldn't, because this was supposed to be upsetting. Oops. XD Thanks so much for your review and your support!~ :)

 **SpiritedSilver:** Yep, I was thinking of Elsa and Anna as I wrote it XD I LOVED your little warning at the end of your review. Thanks so much! :)

 **Akuma-Sama2002:** Thank you so so much- it means so much when someone posts such a long review like that. I actually love the sunglasses idea; I'd never thought of it before. I definitely started considering it when I read your review.  
I'm definitely going to take this story as long as I can go- so, hopefully, to the end. I have plans and idea for future arcs- now I just have to GET there. A sequel for when they're older is something that got my gears turning- that would be so much fun to read and write! You've definitely given me so many ideas. Thanks again so much! :D

 **Reading1Dragon:** Good, the fight scene worked then! All couples have their arguments! XD Thanks so much for the review!

 **G:** Thank you! :)

 **WarriorCatDoesFanfiction:** That's such a fantastic compliment. Thank you so much! :D

 **Rednotebook108:** Thank you so so much! :) :)

 **River of Light:** Thanks so much for the review!~ :D

 _ **Apparently, the HxH manga is said to continue in the summer!**_


	18. Nen

**Chapter 18: Nen**

Killua was an absolute moron.

Gon too; but he was the innocent, pure, and adorable kind of moron that made everyone smile. It was _so_ hard to be mad at him. And when Killua storms into your room, insults your cautiousness, family (she was okay with that bit), and tells you to suck it up, it was pretty easy to be pissed at him.

Thus, this lead to an intense glare off at Wing's flat.

Zushi's eyes flitted back and forth between the two, like he was worried which one of them was going to blow up first. It was like watching two bombs. Killua's sapphires glowering at Aliara's emeralds. Gon stood on the other side of Killua, completely oblivious to the obvious tension, and instead interested in what Wing had to say. Zushi was actually sweating out of nerves- he may not have known the two kids long, but he could tell they were scary intense.

"If you don't want to be here, you are more than welcome to leave," Wing said politely, with no malice behind his voice.

Aliara didn't break her glaring contest with Killua. "I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"Unless you want to give up, then no," Wing mused. "I'll begin then." Only now did the assassins break off their staring, instead choosing the glare angrily at Wing, who smiled happily at them. "Nen is the ability to freely manipulate vital energy, also known as aura, that comes out of the body."

Aliara stopped glaring and looked up in surprise. She'd heard that before.

"Everyone projects a small part of this vital energy," the teacher continued, "but in general, it's only a simple, uncontrolled leak. We call the technique that allows us to regulate it 'ten'. Thanks to this, we strengthen our body, and protect it considerably from aging."

She'd _definitely_ heard something like this before.

"'Zetsu' is a technique that allows you to split nen from your body," Wing continued. "For example, if you want to erase the traces of your presence or when you want to recover from exhaustion. Another technique, that allows you to make your aura rise in exceptional situations, is called-"

"Ren," she interjected.

The three boys and the tall man all turned to her.

Flustered, Aliara glared at Wing. "It's ren, isn't it?"

"It is," he confirmed quietly.

Gon's jaw had slipped, and he was staring at Aliara with some sort of awe, like she was a psychic. "Whoa! How'd you know?!"

"How?" Killua added, looking surprised himself.

Aliara rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm a mind reader." When everyone continued to stare at her, a clear sign that no one believed her, Aliara sighed. "I've heard my family talking about it with my older brothers. I've eavesdropped on a few conversations. I never really knew what nen was, but I do remember those ren and zetsu explanations."

"So you've already been exposed to it?" Zushi asked in wonder.

Aliara shrugged. "Not really. I've just heard the explanations about it."

"I see." Wing raised a finger, and Aliara felt a slight pressure in the center of her chest. "Feel that?"

"Yeah," Gon murmured, "but it's not a bad feeling at all."

"Because I don't want to injure you." Aliara was convinced he had to stop himself from adding a 'yet' onto the end of that sentence.

 _Sometimes, this depends on background, on how a child was raised, or even personality,_ Wing thought with a frown. _I feel like the girl is going to be a problem._ "The aura is the energy that comes out of the human body. That's why we can make use of other human beings to give it the optimal utilization. In the good, and the bad, meaning of the term."

He started giving another example. All the words were starting to confuse Aliara's brain- and Gon looked even worse off. "If a bad spirit attacks a man without defense, he can only kill him with his aura. There is only one way to protect your own body from the users of nen." Wing strode over to the wall. "By using nen ourselves, and protecting ourselves with ten."

Wing pushed against the wall. Nothing. Then, he glared. Aliara felt a wave of energy fly through the room, similar to what Hisoka had been giving off. The wall was forced backwards, and a massive crater had appeared- seemingly, from out of nowhere. "Otherwise," Wing said quietly, "the body is torn to shreds."

Aliara had to admit, she was surprised, and a bit impressed. So far, everything this man said made sense and matched what she had overheard. _I guess he's trustworthy..._

"This is nen," Wing announced, "a secret force hidden inside everybody. Not many people can use and master this title, or even control it a little. That's why we consider them differently, and call them 'genius', 'superman', or 'gifted'. To awaken a force that sleeps, there are two ways."

The teacher held up two fingers. "By taking our time, or provoking it."

"And if we want to get past Hisoka," Aliara questioned, "we have to provoke it. Right?"

Wing nodded slowly. "With Zushi, we're taking our time. He learns pretty fast, and has a lot of effort. That's why he quickly mastered 'ten'. It took him about six months."

"We don't have that much time," Killua snapped. The trio looked at the clock- almost 9:00. "We only have until midnight."

"We can only use provoking," Wing said with a shrug.

"How long is that going to take?" Aliara asked.

Wing shrugged again. "All depends on you. But, if you specifically choose not to trust me-" a flicker of a smile passed across his face- "you will take significantly longer."

Killua held his breath- that was a provoking tactic. Aliara _never_ looked past those.

"I'm doing what I can to move forward," she snapped, "and if it means I have to put a bit of trust in you, I would much rather bite my own tongue off." Zushi coughed, hiding his laugh. "But that doesn't work for me. I have to trust you, and I like talking. So, I'm compromising."

Wing actually smiled. "Sounds good."

Gon snickered, and Killua hid a smirk. Aliara really didn't change.

Wing raised his palm out to them. "I'm going to project a bit of my aura into you."

Immediately, the trio stared at the crater right behind Wing. "You don't have to worry, I have no intention of destroying your bodies. It's a rough technique, but the goal is to provoke and awaken your aura. Thanks to my aura, we'll force the opening of your nen. Normally, we take our time by meditating and praying. The aura seeps out bit by bit. Even Zushi, who is incredibly gifted, took three months.

"You three," Wing said sharply, "would need about less than a week."

 _A week?!_ "We don't have a week," Aliara said, crossing her arms.

Wing continued to further explain the purposes of nen, and Aliara tried to listen, she really did. But it was just a bit much. If they wanted to hurry up, they needed more action, less words. Killua started questioning Wing on why he was showing them the full technique already, and Aliara's anger dimmed slightly- _slightly._ He was questioning Wing, still confused about his actions, proving he was still a little bit cautious.

"Everyone on the 200th floor uses nen," Wing said with a casual shrug. He adjusted his glasses as the trio gaped in shock. "And when new arrivals come up to the 200th floor and don't know nen, they're 'baptized'. As in, the others fight them, using nen. Much more violent then what I'm trying with you."

He held out his palms again. "You three have a gift. I'm sure of it. Put yourself in a t-shirt, and show me your back."

"Eh?" the black-haired girl mumbled.

Gon and Killua stripped off their long-sleeves and jackets, leaving Killua in a black tank top and Gon in a white one. Aliara gritted her teeth and shed her black hoodie, revealing a teal tank top that had a hood fixed to the back. She looked at the boys again, and caught herself staring at Killua for a moment too long, cursing herself.

She sucked up her caution and turned with her back towards Wing.

"I'll do one at a time," Wing told them, pushing his palms over Gon's back. His aura intensified, and Gon yelped, stepping forwards. Aliara felt the energy radiating from Gon. He did the same with Killua, who also yelled out in surprise.

He turned to Aliara, and it felt like a thousand bugs were crawling up under her skin- and he hadn't done anything yet. Thousands of tiny, hot beetles. The heat didn't mater to her- she'd endured fire training as a kid. But then, the thousands of bugs turned into millions. She felt like something inside of her had exploded. Aliara cried out without meaning to as her body erupted with energy.

"It's so weird," Aliara said with a gasp, looking at her hands. She could see wisps of white energy floating off them. No, not even wisps- there was so much energy, and it was everywhere. She turned to the boys, and they looked the same as her- covered in aura.

It felt like every inch of her skin had tiny jets that spurted the aura out. She yelped- the tingling sensation was so, so weird. Gon and Killua were both expressing their own feelings and opinions, but it was clear that this was all so bizarre and so new.

"Are you ready?" Wing asked, holding up a hand. "You're going to use your thoughts to try and contain your aura. Close your eyes, whatever position, and visualize it."

Aliara crossed her arms over her chest and shut her eyes. She imagined that her chest was like a vacuum of sorts- inhaling all the energy right back to where it should be. Wing shouted out next to imagine it flowing back out again, and she imagined pressing a button, and all the energy pouring back out. She could feel it, too.

"Open your eyes slowly."

She did.

All three of them wore matching awed expressions. "It's like wearing light clothes," Killua said, dumbfounded.

"Like I'm submerged in water," Gon agreed.

"It feels," Aliara murmured, "like I'm floating. Kind of."

"Try to picture this in your mind every day," Wing advised. "When you get used to it, even while you're sleeping, you'll be able to use ten. Now, I'm going to channel some hostility and project my nen towards you."

Aliara's eyes widened. He's doing _what_ now?

"If you can avoid it, you'll be able to pass through Hisoka's wall," Wing explained, holding up his hands. "Let's go."

 _Bring it._

* * *

He did bring it, and they gave it their all. An hour later, the trio returned to the 200th floor- and passed through Hisoka's nen wall with ease. The jester only chuckled at them and said, "welcome to the 200th floor."

Aliara glared heavily at Hisoka- dear god, she did NOT like this man- as he talked to Gon- and told him that if he successfully won one of his fights, then Hisoka would accept his challenge. The clown walked away, and was replaced by three men.

One of the men was short and balancing on a metal pole. He was draped with a red cloak and hood and wore some sort of mask, like a scuba mask. He was clutching a wooden cane in his hand, to keep his balance. The second guy was in a wheelchair, with spiky hair that stuck straight up.

The third man was the creepiest, and scared Aliara the most. He was wearing a long purple robe with long sleeves- but he was missing an arm. His white hair fell to his shoulders and was shaggy, and he had tiny slants for eyes.

"Rookies?" the arm-less one whispered.

Aliara, Killua, and Gon simply glared at them all. "Let's go," Gon declared, and they all surged past the creepy men and made their way to the receptionist's desk.

She handed them new forms to fill out and started explaining how the 200th floor worked. You need to fight within three months, or else you'll be disqualified. You can plan a fight for any time, within the restraint, and even delay it. If you win ten fights, you can challenge a floor master. But if you lost four times, you were declared a loser. Whatever came first.

The three men came up behind them. "Problem?" Killua asked, ice lacing his tone.

"We're just waiting to register," the one in the wheelchair cackled.

Aliara looked down at the form- they had to fill out days they wanted to fight. Guaranteed, the creepy people behind them wanted to fight Killua, Gon, or herself. They reminded her of Tonpa, the rookie crusher; they were choosing to fight the novices, hoping to secure an easy win.

"For me, the day doesn't matter," Gon said with determination, handing his form in.

"Maybe so," Killua murmured, checking off his own box. Aliara frowned before checking off 'after two months' and pushing her form back to the lady. They were given new room keys- Aliara's read 2229- and they pushed past the three rookie crushers and towards the elevators.

Aliara didn't even wait for the boys. She pushed past them both and surged down the hall, finding the room and pushing the key into the lock. It fit, and she walked inside, catching a last glimpse of the blank looks on the boys' faces.

 _I'm done with them for today. And tomorrow, for that matter._

She went to her room, stripped out of her clothes, and immediately allowed herself to enjoy a hot bath.

* * *

"Gon," Killua said slowly, "what do I do about Ali?"

The pair of boys were both seated on the expensive bed in Gon's room, discussing the day's events. The straight-forward boy shrugged. "Apologize?"

Killua blinked. "Why would I do that?'

Gon shrugged. "I dunno, but it's obvious that you pissed her off." Killua was about to object when Gon interrupted. "And it's a girl thing. I remember back from Whale Island, that whenever a girl was mad at me, it's best to apologize!" he laughed. "So what did you do that made her so mad?"

"I don't know," Killua lied, thinking back to their argument. "I... She was just being really, really cautious about Wing! I don't know why, I mean, we could've handled ourselves fine if there was a problem-"

"Killua," Gon interrupted, raising his eyebrows. "Do you understand why she's angry?"

The assassin blinked uselessly at the boy he knew as his best friend.

"My Aunt Mito always said that the best way to understand others is to understand why they're angry," Gon explained, beaming. "It's worked pretty well. I figured out what Aliara gets mad at, and I understand her a lot more. I don't make her mad very much." Gon grinned widely and started laughing. "You seem to piss her off at any available opportunity."

Killua rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I guess. We're really similar."

"Yep," Gon agreed. "You've both come from similar backgrounds." Killua was about to contradict him when he realized that it was true. "But the big difference is that I think Ali's a bit more reckless than you are."

He laughed. "I guess so."

"You should go apologize," Gon repeated, smiling at his best friend. "Because I know you guys are already really good friends."

Killua's mind flashed to the 'stabbing' and the bloody cut along her shoulder. He smirked. "Yeah, I guess."

"Besides, it's hard to be friends with both of you when you're both arguing," the dark-haired boy added quietly.

He was surprised- he hadn't thought about how Gon was taking it. He cursed himself multiple times. "I'll go talk to her," he promised, "but no promises."

"Then go do it!" Gon cheered.

Killua grinned right back at him. "I'll come back and see you afterwards!"

"Bye! Good luck!"

But Killua was already out the door.

* * *

 **itzamarmeza:** Thank you for the review! Yessss I'm so happy I hope the rumor is true!

 **havanatitiana:** Thank you for the feedback and the review! :)

 **Akuma-Sama2002:** Oh, I'm SO planning a 'fun' reunion with Aliara and Illumi, or something like that. It sounds like so much fun to write. I feel like she and Miluki wouldn't get along either XD Nen types? Eh, it took me FOREVER to think of something. After the last chapter came out, I still didn't have a clue. Thank you so so much for the review! I appreciate it every time! :)

 **masoliki1:** Thank you for the review! Fun fact: I actually had no clue what category to put Aliara in until a few minutes ago :')

 **Night Owl:** Thanks so so much for the review! :D

 **Reading1Dragon:** AHA your review made me laugh XD I actually loved it! Thanks so much!

 **Nen types aren't quite yet. Another chapter or two, I promise :)**

 **I feel like I really rushed and slowed down this chapter badly. This is the third time I've rewritten it XD Please keep in mind that most of my readers know this already, but some are new to Hunter X Hunter, and I'm trying to make it as easy for them as possible. Thank you!~**


	19. Apology

**Chapter 19: Apology**

Aliara sunk into the tub of hot water, feeling blessed. She hadn't had a bath in _forever_. And at the moment, this was exactly what she needed. She'd stressed herself out so much, bothered by the two idiots she called friends- nope, just one idiot now. Just Killua.

They'd changed her, though. She realized that. Aliara was constantly changing. Physically, too- her hair was a bit longer than when she started, her eyes sharper, and her chest was developing. She wasn't entirely flat anymore.

Personality-wise, she was a bit more of a risk taker now. A bit braver. A bit more courage.

"Trust," Aliara said aloud, sinking down further into the expensive tub. She trusted them, as much as she hated to admit it. Her mother's words always, always echoed in her mind. 'No friends, just tools'. It wasn't true, and she knew that now. Gon and Killua were her friends, and they would help her, as she would help them.

And now, Killua's insults were really catching up to her.

"Paranoid," she scoffed, slapping the water with a bare hand. "I'm _not_ paranoid." Maybe she was, a bit. She didn't want to end up back at that hell hole that was her mansion. She never wanted to see her mother's face again.

And that is when Aliara realized that she wasn't afraid of going back.

She was afraid of being separated.

She'd finally made friends, and wanted to stay with them. She could handle going back, but she didn't want to leave Gon and Killua. They hadn't left her, when she was taken home. They'd come back to rescue her. Kurapika and Leorio, too- she considered them both friends.

"Dammit," Aliara cursed, wiping at her eyes. She was _crying,_ and she seemed to do that a lot lately. "Damn you, Killua."

That... _idiot._ The adorable idiot who made her laugh. Damn him.

She dunked her black hair into the water, washing her face off. Why the hell couldn't he just apologize already?! Not like she was going to- she hadn't done anything wrong. Moron.

* * *

Killua found the room that he thought belonged to Ali and hesitated before knocking on the door. What was he going to say to her? He heard footsteps inside, and finally knocked his fist against the door, twice. He heard her say, "It's open," before he pushed open the door.

He swallowed the lump in his throat. Aliara's room was identical to Gon's. She was wearing the same thing as before- dark blue jeans, and a teal tank top. He spotted her shoes mounted on the desk next to her bed. What was weird was her hair. It wasn't pulled up like it always was- it was hanging down, and it was incredibly long, going down to almost her waist. It was damp, too; and she was patting it with a towel. It looked like she'd just taken a shower.

She stood up from her seat on her bed, took a few steps forward, and stopped. "What?" Aliara said crossly, narrowing her eyes. God, her eyes were pretty.

Killua ignored the glare and shrugged his shoulders. "I just wanted to..."

She frowned, tilting her head, her hair shaking water droplets onto the carpet. "To what?"

"Say hi?" he finished with another shrug, blinking at her.

"That's it?" Aliara deadpanned. "You just came to say hi?"

"No," Killua confessed, feeling his cheeks heating up. Dammit. "Look, I said some stuff a while ago."

Aliara rolled her eyes, trying to throw humor into the awkward conversation. "I know, I was there."

The assassin smirked halfheartedly and stammered, "I probably shouldn't have said what I did."

"I know."

There was a pause.

Ali laughed, "you suck at apologizing, you know that?"

Killua pouted, his cheeks puffing out. "Hey! I was doing fine! And who said I was apologizing?!"

"You just did, ghost boy!"

"Did not, stupid!"

"Killua," Aliara said with a grin. "I should've trusted you more." The white-haired boy's eyes widened. "About the whole Wing and nen thing. I was just really, really terrified."

"Because you don't want to go back home?" Killua clarified.

Aliara shook her head. "I had this argument with myself. I could handle going home. I'd hate it for sure, but..." her voice softened, "I think it's not that I don't want to go back to the mansion, but it's because I don't want to be separated from you and Gon."

"Eh?" Killua stuttered after a moment. "Last I checked, we've done nothing but get you in trouble." His gaze drifted to the long, red scar across her shoulder.

"It's been fun trouble," she admitted. "My life was pretty boring until I met you guys."

Killua laughed. "Yeah, same here, I guess."

"So... Are we good?"

He smiled. This was so much easier than he thought it was going to be. "Yeah," Killua said, and it felt like a huge weight was being lifted off his chest. "Yeah, we are."

They both kind of moved at the same time, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, and she wrapped hers around his shoulder, and they pulled each other in for a hug. Even though her hair was damp, Killua felt warm. Like, really warm. And his chest was kind of fluttering. Why the hell was it fluttering? And why was he so warm? It wasn't hot in here or anything. _Dammit,_ he thought and he squeezed tighter. _It's her._

Aliara held on tight to Killua, feeling better than she had in a while. That argument had been eating at her heart, and she was so glad it was over with. And that Killua, who didn't seem like the type of person to apologize, had tried to muster something up. She felt her cheeks heat up. Even if he didn't act like it, he was a good person. At least, to her. Butterflies bounced around in her stomach, and that was the moment that Aliara realized that she liked Killua. Like, _liked_ him. _God damn this boy._

Eventually they pulled apart, and even if it was just a hug, it had so much more meaning behind it. Both of them were red in the face. _He looks adorable,_ Aliara thought, her cheeks flushed. "I- I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Y- Yeah," Killua stuttered back, equally flushed. He turned quickly, making his way to the door. "See ya, Ali."

"Bye, Killua!"

He shut the door behind him with a quiet slam.

Aliara heard his footsteps recede down the hall before she squealed and hugged her pillow fiercely.

* * *

"Wait, Gon's fighting _when?!"_

"About five minutes. Want to go?"

 _"WHAT?!"_

Aliara took off down the hall after Killua, dressed in her black hoodie, dark blue jeans, and her shoes, because she was finally allowed to wear them. She started grumbling about how reckless the boys were as Killua smirked to himself.

They made it to the arena and got to their seats, which were relatively good. There were so many people in the stands, even more than the previous fights. Aliara felt kind of nervous, wondering if she could be recognized, but swallowed the fear. She was going to stay with the two reckless idiots, no matter what.

"It's going to start any minute," Killua said with a sigh, leaning back in his seat.

Aliara nodded, swinging her backpack around and onto her lap. Killua raised his eyebrows at her. "I'm working on gloves now," she said brightly, pulling out the semi-finished product. It looked like regular finger less gloves, but Killua saw plenty of wire and metal bits on it. She was wiring it.

"Wow," he replied, eyes widening. "How long's that going to take you?"

"Anywhere from a day to a week to a month," Aliara replied, jamming a tiny screwdriver into a metal compartment on the glove. "Depends how much I work on it. At that rate, a week. If I want to get fancy, two weeks."

Killua was impressed; she seemed pretty organized. "Do you plan it out in advance?"

"Yeah," she replied, but Killua caught a mischievous glint in her eye. "There's a sketchbook in my bag."

Frowning, the boy assassin pulled out a sketchbook from the bag, flipped it open to the marked page, and his face went blank. "How the hell do you read this?!" he protested, waving the book around. "They're all scribbles!"

"I can read it perfectly fine," Aliara hummed cheerily. "And no one else can."

"Fine, then what does _this_ say?"

"It says, 'large wire socket, potential finger gun (?)'."

"No, it doesn't!"

"How would you know? You didn't write it!"

"You're so frustrating."

"Says you-"

And then, the announcer started to talk, declaring the match was about to start. Carefully, Aliara tucked her tools back into her backpack and set the gloves in a sealed box before jamming that in her bag too. Killua rolled his eyes- she worked on her creations just about anywhere, didn't she?- before turning his attention to the ring, where Gon was walking confidently across the floor.

Aliara stared intently at Gon's opponent, Gido, who was balancing on his peg leg carefully. He looked like he could be toppled over. The gas mask thing was really weird, too-

"You should wear your hair down more."

The black-haired girl blinked, turning to her friend. She was confused. Aliara was wearing her hair in a ponytail at the moment, and never let it down, if possible. She said something really intelligent, like: "Eh?"

"You should leave it down," Killua said with a shrug, turning his eyes down to the match. "It's different." _It's nice,_ he added in his head.

Aliara took a minute to realize that he had seen her hair when it was down- yesterday, after her bath. She had been brushing it out when he arrived. Gradually, her face got redder and redder, rivaling Gido's cloak, and she squeaked out something that Killua didn't catch and turned back to the match, which was about to begin.

Killua was internally cackling. _Her face is so red!_

The referee declared the fight to begin, and Gido held out his staff, balancing tiny tops along it. He flung his staff forwards, and the tiny tops launched themselves at Gon.

That was only the beginning. The tops spun, and kept flying in random directions, striking Gon where he didn't expect it. When he tried to attack Gido directly, the creepy man spun around like a top, and Gon couldn't get a hit in. When the score was 9 to 0- meaning Gido only needed one more point to win- Gon tried to nullify his aura and dodge the tops. It worked for... for an hour. The top number had increased to 50. Gido had tried nothing new, and instead looked tired. Aliara shook her head in bewilderment. Gon's stamina was incredible.

Gon's eyes flickered open, and both Killua and Aliara caught the lone top that zoomed at Gon, smashing into his arm.

Gido was declared the winner, and Gon was brought into the emergency room in the Heavens Arena. Killua and Aliara cornered him later, when he was brought back to his room. "On the right arm," Killua said slowly, sitting down in front of Gon's bed, "a fracture of the radius and the cubitus, and a crack on the higher part."

"Three fractures," Aliara clarified, hoisting her bag up higher on her back, "and twelve cracks in your ribs."

"You're off for four months," Killua said sternly with a glare. "You idiot."

"Sorry," Gon said, but he didn't seem very sorry at all.

Killua jammed a finger at Gon's forehead. "I don't care about your apologies! What the hell went through your mind, huh?!" Gon protested and Aliara snickered at Killua's motherly nature, but Killua kept ranting. "You saw what happens to the ones that come in here without knowing anything about nen, didn't you?! A bit more, and you would've finished like them! Consider yourself really lucky that it didn't end worse!"

"You're quite the parent, Killua," Aliara said quietly, gazing at Gon.

"Parent?!" the white-haired boy spluttered. "I-"

"Parent," Aliara and Gon chimed in unison, sharing a grin. It was evident that Gon was happy to see they worked things out. There was a knock at the door that Killua went to go answer, and the black-haired girl turned to Gon. "Still, idiot, that was really reckless. Even I wouldn't have done it."

"I know," Gon said, not looking the slightest bit ashamed, "but I endured his attacks several times, and I was able to protect my vital points, so I wouldn't die!"

"Just be more careful, okay?" Aliara said clearly, smirking at him. "Four months is a long time."

Gon stuck out his tongue. "Now you're _both_ acting like parents."

Aliara snickered, her face heating up again, but then Wing walked in, slapped Gon, and began his lecture. Killua and Aliara hung back. When Wing asked how long Gon would take to heal, Killua said, "two months." When Wing turned around again, Aliara raised her eyebrows at Killua, who was strangely resembling a mischievous cat. Wing made Gon promise to not use nen in those two months, tied a promise string around his finger, and took Killua and Aliara outside.

They (meaning Wing and Killua) talked for a bit, and the two kids promised to wait until Gon was healed to advance their training. Wing thanked them, glanced oddly at Aliara, and left.

"Oi, Gon!" Killua called as the pair went back to the injured boy's room. Aliara peered in and noticed that he was meditating. With a small smile, Killua sat down, crossing his legs. Aliara did the same, sitting across from him, exhaling. Meditation wasn't exactly her thing- she was too impatient for this sort of thing- but at the same time it was kind of relaxing, and allowed her to think up new ideas for her gloves and such.

She cracked open an eye, about a minute in to their meditation session. Neither of the boys had moved. Killua looked as cute yet intimidating as ever, and he seemed to be concentrating. Blushing slightly, Aliara squeezed her eyes shut again. _I won't open my eyes again. I won't open my eyes again..._

She opened her eyes.

And this time, Killua was staring back.

Her face flushed (and she noticed the slight tinge of pink on his cheeks) and she half-smirked and shut her eyes again, sinking into the silence.

* * *

 **Tawnypelt37:** Thank you! Thanks for the cover photo too, it was well done and made me laugh XD

 **masoliki1:** I was debating whether or not the apologizing would end well and the not-so-cruel side of me won, so they're good now. Doesn't mean they won't argue in the future. Thanks so much for the review!~ :)

 **havanatitiana:** Oops indeed. I never really thought of that possibility until you mentioned it, but I decided I wanted to avoid cliches XD Once again, thanks for the review! :D

 **OperaEagle IcelynLacelett:** She and Bisky aren't going to get along- at first. I've got a couple ideas in mind. After much decision, I have decided that her nen will reflect her building hobby, somehow. Thank you so much for the feedback and the review! :D

 **Night Owl:** Thank you! It was my way of showing all the tension XD Thanks for the review!

 **G:** Thank you! :)


	20. Gloves

**Chapter 20: Gloves**

One month passed. One long, tedious month, where Aliara wanted to push herself forwards yet restrained herself for Gon's sake. Killua seemed to be able to tell it was bothering her, and the two met up to train. Not with nen- they promised they wouldn't- but physically instead. They'd have sparring matches. Killua normally got the upper hand, but every now and then, Aliara would figure out his attack pattern and hit him back.

It was reaching the one month mark. Killua and Aliara had just finished a sparring match in Killua's room- Aliara's room was still crowded with broken tools and such. Aliara, sweating like crazy, had fallen back on Killua's bed.

"Oi, sunshine," Killua snapped, "you're getting sweat all over my bed."

Grinning coyly, Aliara didn't get up. She rolled over. "I'm sorry," she said, grinning.

"No, you're not," Killua sighed. He flopped back on his bed next to her. He was sweating up a storm too. Aliara didn't know why he was complaining about her ruining his bed if he was just going to do the same thing.

They lay there in silence for a few minutes before Aliara sat up, stretching. "All right, I'm plenty rested." She laced her fingers and pushed her palms up, successfully cracking her fingers. "I'm going to head back to my room." She went for the door, grabbing the handle.

The white-haired boy sat up too. "Are you done your gloves yet?"

She blinked at him. With a month off, she'd done so much to the gloves, which had proved to be more difficult than she had anticipated. Aliara had finished up a few days ago, but was tweaking them slightly. She'd never tell Killua, but she was kind of worried to show him. Worried for what he thought of them.

"Kinda," she replied after a moment's hesitation.

Killua raised his eyebrows. "Is that a yes or no?"

"Yeah," Aliara admitted. "I did a couple days ago."

"What?!" the assassin jumped off the bed. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

Aliara shrugged, "you didn't ask?"

"Yes, I did!"

"Well, I wasn't done at that time, probably."

"I asked you yesterday!"

"...Yes you did."

"Idiot! Can I see them?"

"I guess," she said nervously, shrugging. "They're not very good, though."

Killua waved her off, opening the door and leading the way out. "Moron. If you made them, they're probably almost perfect."

Aliara's face steamed red as smoke seemed to pour out of her ears. Killua glanced at her briefly before he started off down the hall to Aliara's room. If anyone saw him, they'd probably saw his face resembled a mischievous cat. Killua snickered.

"I- Idiot," she stammered. "Thanks."

The walk took only thirty seconds, and when they got to her room, Killua's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

What happened to girls supposedly keeping nice, clean, organized rooms?!

Aliara's room looked like a tornado had been through it. Her bed wasn't made, and a pillow was thrown across the room. Her backpack lay open against the far wall, assorted tools gathered around it. Her dresser was tangled in wire that looked like it had been unraveled, yet gotten tangled again. Her desk was covered in spare metal bits and pieces, next to hammers, screwdrivers (there must have been at least eight different sizes) next to tiny wrenches and screws.

"Holy crap, Ali," Killua said in awe as he stepped over a screw that was rolling on the floor. "Don't you ever get this place cleaned?"

She shrugged. "I don't want anyone messing with my stuff."

Killua rolled his eyes. He couldn't really argue with that.

They ventured into the jungle known as Aliara's room and went over to her desk. She gulped down any worries she had and yanked open a drawer. Carefully, with more care than Killua had seen her put into anything, and pulled out two finger less gloves and cleared away some desk space with a swipe of her hand, cascading screws to the floor. She set the gloves down gingerly.

"Ta da," she said dryly.

Killua blinked, narrowing his blue eyes at the gloves. They looked like normal finger less gloves, but... the back of the hand was built up, at least an inch or so. "What do they do?"

Aliara sighed, and slid them on. They fit perfectly. "They took a while, and I'm not sure if they work too well yet." She held up her palm to Killua, and he saw a large circle. The bottom of her hand was built up slightly too, making room for more things under the glove. "This is a stick pad." She pushed something on the back of her left hand. Instantly, another circle slid out from behind the fabric and took up the space Killua had just seen.

"Eh?"

"Touch it."

Killua poked it carefully. It was incredibly sticky. "It's some of the stickiest stuff anyone can find," Aliara said proudly. The twinkle in her eye was back. Killua grinned; she was getting into it now. She'd start ranting. "And I've tested it, so it'll stick to just about anything. I've even tried the ceiling, and it worked."

"Try it," he said eagerly.

Aliara grinned, crunched down, and jumped. Both the assassins had plenty of leg muscle and could reach the roof easily. Aliara pressed both her hands against the ceiling, and she didn't fall back down. She stuck to the ceiling by her hands.

"I'm impressed," he said honestly.

Ali grinned, pulling her hands off the cieling and falling the the ground. "Wait til you see what else I have, then." She held her hand out to Killua, palm down, fingers spread. He raised his eyebrows at her.

Aliara smirked and curled her pointer finger, her finger digging in to a button.

As her pointer finger went down, with just a quiet, fast, flick, the machine- or whatever you call what was on the top of her hand- whirred quietly. Killua took a step back as a miniature cylinder popped up from the back of her hand, connecting to a small pole at the back, wires circling the pole. The little cylinder had a red beam inside- at least, it looked like it.

"Move," she advised as she curled her pinky finger downwards, tapping it against the glove in a fraction of a second.

Killua ducked as a laser shot out from the miniature gun and blasted a hole clean through the wooden bed post. Killua's jaw dropped and he turned back to Aliara. The girl grinned and curled her pointer finger again. The gun was pulled back into the large glove, hidden from sight.

"That's amazing!" he said in awe, looking at her hand in fascination, his childish eyes wide and adorable. "How long did that take you?"

Aliara's face flushed red and she beamed. "About a week. The building only took two days, the wiring and the finger thing took forever, because I was trying to get the right spot for the miniature button. It had to be out of the way, so I didn't accidentally push it, and-"

Then Killua was _grabbing her hand_ and inspecting the weapon up close. "Where the hell do you get stuff like this? Do you just, I don't know, stroll into the market and demand a mini laser?"

"Uh- I- You'd be surprised," Aliara stammered, trying to remember how to speak English as Killua's fingers brushed her own. "Eh, I, uh, went to a shop of different lots around town." He looked up at her quizzically. "Wait! I meant I went to a lot of different shops around town."

He rolled his eyes. "Stupid."

"Shut up," Aliara huffed. He _finally_ removed his hand, and Aliara could breathe again- although she could tell her face was a brilliant shade of red.

"So, is that all it can do?"

"For now," Aliara said thoughtfully, pushing the Killua-hand-touch thing to the back of her mind. "It's up and running, and I kind of want to try it out. I've been working on target practice." She pulled a large sheet of metal out from behind the desk. A messy target had been drawn on it. Killua was surprised- the target had multiple holes in the bulls-eye, and surrounding it.

Killua nodded along, hiding the fact he was really impressed. What was she, twelve years old? Thirteen? Wait...

"Say, Ali," Killua hummed, "when's your birthday?"

"Eh? Why do you ask?"

"I wanna know if I'm older than you."

Aliara scoffed, kicking her shoe against the ground. "Probably."

"Why, when's your birthday?"

It took a long silence before Aliara finally huffed, "August 8th."

"Ha!" Killua whooped, punching a fist in the air. "Mine's July 7th!"

"Only a month and a day!"

"When do you think Gon's birthday is?"

"Only one way to find out."

And that is why Killua and Aliara were racing down the hall to Gon's room. Aliara won (but if you asked Killua later, he'll say she cheated and used her skates). They threw open the door to find Gon bouncing around the room, his arm free of a cast. He was stretching and leaning when the duo came in, their eyes widened considerably.

Gon hopped around, doing a handstand on his good arm. "Hey, Killua! Ali! I was just about to visit you guys!"

"Your injuries?" Killua said slowly.

Gon jumped up and down in a flurry of movements. "Nope, I'm fine! I think I'm totally healed!"

Aliara moved in and chopped Gon on the head- hard. "Idiot! Don't jump around like that!" Gon whimpered and crouched, holding his head.

"What the hell are you made of?" Killua accused, pointing a finger at Gon. The dark-haired boy grinned sheepishly.

"Gon," Aliara said, remembering the reason for stopping by his apartment, "when's your birthday?"

The boy paused, thinking. "It's May. May 5th. Why?"

"Damn it!" Aliara howled as Killua cackled at her dismay. Gon looked panicky, but Aliara waved him off. "Ghost boy and I were talking about it. I'm the youngest one, but you're older than Killua."

"Ghost boy?" Killua spluttered.

"Anyways, your birthday's coming up, isn't it?" Aliara said, beaming. "It's mid April now."

Gon nodded, "Yep! I can't believe I'm older than both of you."

Killua rolled his eyes. "Guess what?" The two others turned to face him as Killua held up three scraps of paper.

"Tickets?" Gon and Aliara chimed.

"Not just any tickets," Killua announced, grinning, "tickets to Hisoka's fight against Kastro. It'll be huge. They're huge rivals. Kastro's the only one known to have gotten a hit on him. I had to pay a lot for these."

The three decided to take a trip into town, Killua still talking about the tickets and how hard it was to get them. "They told me a lot about Hisoka, too," he continued, raising a finger as he talked about Hisoka's record. Apparently, the jester had eight wins, six of which he had killed his opponent, and three defeats. The only matches he lost were ones he never showed up to.

"Plus," Killua added, "out of the only four points scored on Hisoka, Kastro's gotten three of them."

Aliara rolled her eyes. "Sounds amusing."

"What about Wing?" Gon asked hesitantly.

Killua sighed. "There isn't any problem, obviously. You'll only watch the match!"

"No way."

The three whirled around to see Wing, who looked very angry and very suspicious. He lectured them about how watching a match was another way to learn nen, then left, leaving Aliara wondering if he was spying on them. Gon sighed.

Killua started complaining, obviously. "I could've bought so much chocolate with that money! It was wasted on a ticket I'm not even going to use!"

Aliara faked a yawn, a smirk crawling up her face. "Yeah, I can't go either, sorry-"

"Like hell you're not going," he snapped, fake-glaring at her. Or maybe it was real glaring? "I will drag you by your ears."

"You can try it," she challenged.

Killua's eyes glinted. "All right-"

"Hey!" Gon cried out, placing himself in between the two. "Let's be nice, okay?" He managed a brilliant smile.

And once again, the walking ray of sunshine made them both grin at him. It didn't stop Killua and Aliara from glaring at each other, until she couldn't take it anymore and started snickering. He started laughing too. And then Gon was laughing, and they were all laughing, out in the streets of town, causing many heads to turn, but at the moment, Aliara didn't really care.

It was nice to laugh. Even if it was for no reason.

* * *

 **Tawnypelt37:** :) :)

 **itzamarmeza:** Interesting dialogue you have going there. XD Thanks for the review!

 **havanatitiana:** Yes, I remember all those times I'd stare at my crushes, they'd stare back, and then I'm lost, embarrassed, and confused XD I'm glad you liked how the apology went! Thanks for the review! :D

 **masoliki1:** Yes, her family will be seen again in future chapters. Sooner than you might think, actually ;) Thanks for the review!

 **Night Owl:** Thank you for the enthusiastic review! SAILING SHIPS IS THE BEST XD XD Stubborn dorks is right! :)

 **Reading1Dragon:** YOUR REVIEW BASICALLY DESCRIBES MY FEELINGS AT THE MOMENT XD XD Thanks so much for the review!~ :)

 **THANK YOU SO MUCH for 100 followers! Wow, I can't believe 100 people are following this story already, this makes me so happy :) :)**


	21. Kastro

**Chapter 21: Kastro  
**

Hisoka's match was the buzz of the day. Killua grumbled about wasting money on the extra ticket that he couldn't even use, but Aliara just laughed at him. She offered to pay him back, but he refused, saying it wasn't a big deal, which made Aliara sweat-drop. He was complaining about no one using the third ticket, but wouldn't take money back... Interesting.

They were making their way to the arena where the fight was supposed to be. Aliara glanced up at the screen, where they were showing an interview with Kastro.

"If I didn't think I had a chance of winning, I wouldn't fight," Kastro was saying politely to the interviewer. He had long hair, almost as long as hers, and a stern face. "I'm going to show that in two years, I became another man."

Killua huffed beside her. "Not really modest."

Aliara snickered. "It'll be a good match."

Killua hummed quietly, but when Aliara looked at him, she could see he was planning something. She recognized the thoughtful expression, and imagined gears in his brain whirring. "I'll be back," he said suddenly, taking off, "go find our seats!"

"Eh? Killua!" The white-haired boy turned swiftly through the crowd, not looking back. Ali grumbled, "irresponsible! I swear!" and kept moving with the crowd, going off to find the seats. Killua had handed her the tickets.

That was when her eyes drifted up to a nearby screen, showing off another fight.

A boy. A boy was fighting. He had thick black hair that was styled in an undercut, and stone cold brown eyes that gazed down at his opponent, who was one the floor, surrounded in a pile of blood. Yet the boy showed no emotion; he stared down at the fallen man with a poker face, before turning around and walking out of the view of the screen.

The announcer was ecstatic. "Another twenty seconds or less victory, for Fukinoro!"

Aliara's head whirled.

"Fukinoro?!" she hissed angrily.

Her brother?!

* * *

The match began, and Aliara had found her seat, still unnerved. Killua had joined her. "I just went to check on Kastro," he said with a shrug. "Nothing happened." But Aliara could see he was genuinely shaken up. She rolled her emerald eyes at him, before turning back to the match, as Hisoka and Kastro were making their entrance.

"What happened?" Killua asked her.

Aliara blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Something happened when I was out," he accused, narrowing his blue eyes. "You're doing that... _thing_."

"What thing?!"

He shrugged. "The thing where you cut your sentences shorter, your eyes flutter around, and you're not really concentrating. That's when I know something's up."

Aliara's jaw slipped open. He had picked that much up?! "W- Well," she stammered, her cheeks flushing angrily, "I can say the same to you."

"Eh? What?" Killua asked, cocking his head to the side.

"You shrug a lot," Aliara countered, her ideas gathering in her head, "and you're brushing off stuff, and you seem too focused, like you're concentrating too hard on something."

They both stared at each other, blinking.

Killua started to laugh. "We're opposites."

"No kidding," she agreed, rolling her eyes. "What is it?"

Killua shrugged again, and said, "When I went to find Kastro, it was almost like he teleported himself behind me. It was impossible, almost. And he's really strong." His honesty surprised Aliara. "How about you?"

The black-haired girl bit her tongue, nervous, then swallowed. He told her, and even if it wasn't much to worry about, she ought to tell him too. "I saw a video of one of the other fights," Aliara started as Killua studied her intently. "And there was a fight between two guys, and the winner made it to the 200th floor. The winner was my brother."

"What?" Killua said, eyes wide.

Aliara nodded miserably. "I like to think it's pure coincidence. But I'm not sure."

"What brother?" he demanded.

"His name's Fukinoro. He's a really cold person, shows no emotion, that kind of thing. We don't look anything alike. He's a year older than me. Actually, I think he's fourteen now, his birthday was in the start of April."

The assassin winced. "Yikes. He's going to find out you're here."

Aliara nodded. These fights were videotaped and shown in many different places. She's never given her last name, and as a kid she'd never left her house. It was a bit much to hope no one would recognize her, but she'd done pretty well so far. "I'll figure out how to deal with that. For now, let's enjoy the match that you spent so much money on."

Killua snorted. "No kidding. These were expensive!"

"Thank you," Aliara said quietly and genuinely. "For buying the tickets."

Maybe it was her imagination, but his cheeks were... almost pink. "Whatever, sunshine," he scowled, but he was smirking.

They turned to the match as Kastro lunged at Hisoka.

The fight seemed to be going in Kastro's favor, at first. Aliara saw what Killua meant. He seemed to vanish and reappear somewhere Hisoka wasn't expecting in order to land a solid hit. Kastro had four points, and Hisoka had nothing, when Aliara and Killua came to a conclusion.

"It's an illusion," Killua said firmly. "It really does look like it."

"There's two of him for a few milliseconds," Aliara agreed.

"He's got a double or something," the pair concluded together.

Kastro ran at Hisoka, fists curled awkwardly in what the assassin's both recognized to be the famous Tiger's Claw, an incredibly strong attack that was said to break trees. The jester simply held out his arm, taunting Kastro into taking it.

The illusionist ended up taking Hisoka's right arm, the one he hadn't held out.

"I'm not sure if that's a bad move or not," Aliara admitted, glaring at the arena.

"Why?" Killua mused.

"Because Kastro wasn't sure if the arm that Hisoka offered was a trap," she said slowly, "but I think what Hisoka was doing was baiting him into taking the other arm. Hisoka probably used that to get a better understanding of Kastro's illusion, double, or whatever."

Killua glanced at her like she had grown a second head. "What?!" she demanded, frowning at him.

He rolled his eyes. "Nothing."

"Well, it's obviously not 'nothing'," Aliara demanded, "I-"

"Shut up," he advised, "the match is still going."

Aliara huffed angrily and turned back to the floor.

They both heard Kastro when he said, "If you think everything will happen as you planned, you're making a huge mistake." And after, they both heard Hisoka muse, "That was included in my plans."

The black-haired girl glanced triumphantly at the white-haired boy as he rolled his eyes. "Okay, so you were right for once."

"For once?!" Aliara spluttered. "I-"

"The match," he reminded her, smirking, and she turned back to the match, fuming.

Indeed, Hisoka figured out that Kastro had a double. The illusionist divided himself in two, and the audience went wild as they saw the second Kastro. Hisoka pulled out his severed arm and covered in a cloth, and instantly, Aliara could tell that things were going to go Hisoka's way. He threw the cloth, and his arm was gone- replaced by playing cards that scattered across the floor.

"Choose a card," he hummed, "and memorize it."

The crowd murmured in confusion. Aliara rolled her eyes. "I'm picking eight."

"I'll go seven," Killua countered.

"Add four to it," Hisoka trilled, holding up his fingers. "Then multiply it by two. Subtract six." Aliara's head spun with numbers- she had 18, and if Killua had done it right, he's have 16. "Divide this sum in half, and subtract the original number. What do you have?"

She had one, and she realized the truth- all of the numbers would end up producing one. It was a silly number trick, and would probably fool plenty of people. Killua got it too, and he furrowed his eyebrows. "Everyone's going to get one."

Aliara nodded as Hisoka, disgustingly, reached into his severed arm. "Is this for real?" they both said, disgusted. Hisoka pulled out a bloody ace of spades. One of the two Kastros lunged at Hisoka, aiming for his left arm. Surprisingly, Hisoka gave it to him. As the double vanished, Hisoka chuckled, his left arm discarded on the floor.

His right arm was back to normal. How, Aliara had no clue.

Kastro flew into a frenzy, and he and his double swarmed Hisoka. But as the challenger was about to land a real hit, on Hisoka's arm, the severed arm flew out of nowhere and smacked Kastro across the face.

"Nen," Aliara said in disbelief as Hisoka snapped his fingers, sending all the fallen cards at Kastro. "It's got to be." The jester walked away as the cards impaled Kastro, one by one. "I mean, what else could it be?"

Killua nodded as Kastro collapsed, dead, and Hisoka was declared the winner. "Yeah," he said thoughtfully, his mind in a faraway place. He was thinking. Aliara shook her head with a smile, staring back down to the arena floor, where some referees were trying to remove Kastro's bloody body.

They fought through the roaring crowds to get back to Aliara's room. People were yelling, screaming, and exchanging money. Aliara snorted- didn't they have better things to do than betting?- and she and Killua made it to her room without too much difficulty.

Killua was still amazed at her room. How could it be such a mess, yet she knew exactly where everything was? How was that fair, or logical? Aliara crouched down by her desk and started sorting nails and screws into containers.

He watched her hands in fascination before he said, "we're going to have to fight soon."

Aliara nodded, not looking up from her sorting.

"We're going to win."

She nodded again. How the hell she was sorting such tiny screws and nails without dropping anything or accidentally throwing something his way, Killua would never know. "The nen thing worries me," she mused, sealing the lid on a container of screws that were half the size of his pinky finger. "It seems to be problematic."

"We'll be fine," Killua said with a casual shrug. "We're getting the hang of it."

Aliara scowled, tossing the last nail into the box. "I feel like we've only breached the surface of nen."

He couldn't help but agree. They both sat in silence until Aliara tossed the two containers carelessly into a drawer and grabbed her sketchbook. "Want to help me think up something new?"

"You what?"

"Something new, idiot!"

Killua was kind of surprised. "You just finished the gloves."

"Not really."

"Shouldn't you finish those before you start something else?"

Aliara snorted, "where's the fun in that?"

"And you want _me_ to help you?"

She cocked her head. "Yeah, ghost boy. What's so bad about that?"

Killua shook his head, a grin slowly forming on his face. "Have you ever thought of sunglasses?"

They spent another hour in her room, laying back on her bed, scribbling things in her sketchbook, ideas coming into place. Aliara pointed out little things that Killua forgot, and he added onto her ideas. It was like two puzzle pieces that had finally come together- and it was absolutely perfect.

* * *

 **EvilSquirrelsFans:** Love your username, by the way. Um... You may not appreciate what I'm going to do then. Actually, based on what nen types you said you liked, I may end up changing it. Hmm. Thanks for the review!

 **itzamarmeza:** 'Vans off the wall' is certainly an interesting way to read that XD Thanks for the review! :)

 **Akuma-Sama2002:** Thank you! You're giving me so many ideas, oh my XD So much information! The sunglasses, I've actually drawn up something, and the x-ray vision sounds cool, I hadn't thought of it. The earrings are a cool idea- yes, she has piercings. I actually considered a ring- and may find a way to incorporate that later. Thanks for all the brilliant ideas and the review!

 **masoliki1:** A few more OCs will be added- but nothing too large or drastic. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for the review!~ :D

 **Night Owl:** Aha, thanks! I'm glad you liked the gloves! These dorks are adorable, aren't they? XD Thanks for the review! :)

 **Reading1Dragon:** Give me an invitation, I'm in! XD Shipping party, here I come! Yes, call her Ali. No problem with that. XD Thanks for the review!

 **G:** Thank you! :D

 **Guest:** Yes, I'm aware they speak Japanese. I just thought that would be confusing and decided to just use English. I'm sorry if that bothers you :) Family member? Check! Thanks for the review! :)


	22. Sadaso

**Chapter 22: Sadaso  
**

Two months had _finally_ passed- which was good, because Aliara's patience was wearing thin.

(They had celebrated Gon's birthday, too. The three went into town for food, Killua and Aliara treated Gon to whatever he wanted. It was such an incredible day that Aliara couldn't wait for her own birthday. It felt so, so good to hang out with people she called friends.)

As soon as Gon was good to go, they all met up at Wing's flat. Killua was relieved to hear that Aliara had finally admitted that Wing wasn't as bad as she expected- but it took her long enough. "Killua, Gon, and Aliara," Wing said, gazing at them with pride. "From now on, you'll train with Zushi."

They all nodded.

"Gon," Wing continued, "you kept your promise during those two months, didn't you?"

He nodded, smiling. "It's thanks to the string," Gon admitted, holding up his hand. "In fact, I've been tempted several times. But whenever I look at the string, it calms me." Wing smiled and joked around, saying that he put his nen in it. When Killua questioned him about believing Gon first thing, Wing asked Gon to activate his nen.

 _Can I even do that anymore?_ Aliara mused, thinking about the weird feeling involving the life energy.

Gon activated his nen with no difficulties- in fact, it seemed better than before. Zushi eagerly agreed with her thoughts, saying that it was stable. When the trio studied the string on Gon's finger, they found it to be broken.

"But even when you scraped it, it didn't break," Aliara mused, impressed.

"I tied it in a way that if you use your nen, it breaks. Thanks to my nen." Wing smiled, his glasses reflecting a bit of sunlight from the window.

"Wing, did you see the match between Kastro and Hisoka?" Killua asked suddenly. Aliara was glad that she didn't have to ask.

Wing smirked and pulled out a tape. It was a recording of the match, so Gon could see it too. He played the recording, and Aliara watched with furious concentration, looking for anything, or any sign of nen. Wing paused it at the part where Hisoka tossed the cloth in the air and all the cards scattered.

"Hisoka uses a technique that allows him to make his aura imperceptible. It's a high level application of zetsu, called 'in'. Thanks to that, even if the opponent has a really strong aura, he won't feel it. To counter this, we can use a concentration of ren on our sight." Wing stared at them all in turn, before inviting Zushi up to the front.

The small boy, who seemed incredibly nervous, activated his ren. _Not bad,_ Aliara mused. Zushi then condensed all the aura to his eyes, and focused on the screen. "I... see..." he panted, sweat rolling down his forehead, "thirteen. Thir... thirteen nen strands!"

"Very good, Zushi," Wing complimented as Zushi let go of his ren, exhaling. "Almost! You're on the right path."

Wing continued on to explain some more things before he stopped. "How many more days until you have to fight?"

Gon had 28 days. Killua and Aliara both had 27.

"Perfect," Wing decided. "Killua, Aliara. You two will fight on June 9th. Gon, you can fight on June 10th."

With that said, the trio headed back to their apartments in the Heaven's Arena, Zushi accompanying them. They discussed Zushi's success- he was now at the 90th floor- and all agreed to head to Killua's place, to train.

Their happy atmosphere was instantly killed after they got off the elevator and found themselves face-to-face with the three rookie crushers. Gon saw Gido and his fists clenched. Zushi started shivering. Killua jammed his hands in his pockets carelessly, and Aliara crossed her arms over her chest, scowling.

"We just want to know when you're all going to fight," the arm-less one purred creepily, his slanted eyes tilting. "Because we'd like to be your opponents." The empty sleeve lit up, crackling with nen energy. Aliara growled through her teeth.

"I fight on the tenth of June," Gon said with determination.

Killua and Aliara rounded on him at the exact same time, both hissing angrily, "Gon!"

"That's not okay with me," the creepy man said. "I need to fight by the 29th of May."

"Good fucking luck," Aliara snarled, causing Gon and Zushi's eyes to widen at her use of language. "C'mon, we're leaving." She grabbed Killua by one wrist and Gon by the other, pulling them away and down the hall. Zushi scurried after them.

The man seemed to laugh. "Gon, I'll fight against you. You can be sure of that."

Oh, the black-haired girl hated the sound of that.

But nevertheless, she dragged them all away.

* * *

They made it successfully to Killua's room, without much further delay, and started practicing by shooting their nen as far out of their bodies as they could, trying to channel as much of it as possible. It wasn't hard for Ali- she was furious at the three rookie crushers.

The three finished, relaxing, and grinned at each other. Aliara hid her rage behind a smile. "This is getting pretty easy."

Zushi stared at them in fascination and complete disbelief. They took one look at him and started laughing. Killua said good night to them all, and Gon and Zushi left, leaving Aliara in Killua's room.

"They're planning something," Aliara snapped instantly. "Something to get us to fight them sooner."

"I know," Killua replied, narrowing his eyebrows. Gon and Zushi were long gone. "Want to tail Zushi? Make sure he gets back okay? He'd be the first person they go after." Aliara agreed, clenching her hands into fists.

Killua and Aliara took to the streets, casually strolling around, looking for any sign of the young boy in the uniform. When they found him, he was passed out, on the guy with the wheelchair's lap. The creepy guy was standing above him. "I knew it," the black-haired assassin cursed, surging forwards. "I'm going to-"

"Hold it," Killua commanded, grabbing her arm. He cleared his throat and got the rookie crushers' attention. "It's not necessary to use such pitiful strategies," he called out. Aliara admired how well-worded his sentences were- hers would've involved a lot more cursing. "We'll be your opponents."

Half of her was thrilled to fight, the other half wanted to smack him upside the head for volunteering her.

"I'll fight both of you, if you want," Aliara said with a careless shrug, trying to seem as innocent as possible. "Killua can, too." He shot her a look, and she smirked at him.

"Concerning Gon," Killua added, jamming his hands in his pockets, "he's already broken a promise he made to our master."

 _Our?!_ Aliara screamed in her head. _Master?!_

"And even if he forgives him, breaking a promise isn't good," he finished.

The black-haired girl widened her eyes. "I can fight you on May 29th," she offered to the creepy arm-less man, biting the inside of her cheek. "And then you can fight Killua after, or whatever."

They both nodded. "If you accept being our adversaries," the man purred- _purred,_ oh how she hated him- and continued, "then let's go register now."

"Not that we don't trust you," the man in the wheelchair added, cradling Zushi, "but that way we can give you back the brat, unharmed."

Killua and Aliara looked at each other, and nodded.

Minutes later they were back up at the registration desk. Aliara filled out her form to fight on the 29th, apologizing to Wing in her head, and waved it at the creepy man. "Is this fine?"

"Add mine for the 30th," the wheelchair man croaked. Aliara restrained herself from rolling her eyes and wrote it down.

"Here," Killua said, showing the creepy man and the wheelchair man his form. He had signed up for May 29th and May 30th, fighting the wheelchair man on the first day and the arm-less one on the day after.

They nodded. "You can have him back," the spiky-haired guy said, handing Zushi to Killua from his wheelchair.

The white-haired boy hoisted Zushi onto his back. Aliara clenched her fists. "If you don't keep your promise..." Killua threatened dangerously, his eyes glinting. Aliara had to restrain herself from giving them the middle finger as she followed Killua away, already dreading (yet, looking forward to at the same time) May 29th.

* * *

The next day, Gon had been scheduled to fight Sadaso, the one-armed, creepy man, on May 31st.

Aliara was ready to tear his head off and feed it to the wolves.

"I," she proclaimed as she marched down the hall with Killua (they had found out about the upcoming match while they were together in the common room), "am going to rip that sorry bastard from limb to limb."

Killua's eyes were downright murderous. "I'm going to kill him."

"I just said that I was going to," Aliara complained, glaring at Killua with burning intensity.

"But first," he continued, "I'm going to scare the life out of him."

Aliara's eyes widened as he told her the plan- what he was going to do. "Let me fight him first," she pleaded. "I don't care what you do. Scare the hell out of him, but let me fight him."

"Seriously?" Killua mused.

"Seriously," she confirmed.

Killua rolled his eyes. "Always so aggressive. Sure, I'll make sure he understands that."

"What do you mean, always?! Oi, ghost boy-"

But he was already gone.

Killua wasn't going to turn down her request to let her fight Sadaso- he'd seen the angry fire in her eyes and the passion. Yeah, he wasn't going to get in front of that. The plan shifted slightly- threaten Sadaso at knife point so badly and make him promise not to show up to the fights, but stay for Ali's fight.

Just so she could kick his ass.

* * *

May 29th came, and Aliara was itching to give this man the slowest, most brutal, _painful_ death he could imagine.

She was equipped with her trusty gloves and her shoes. She wore her black hoodie and jeans, which were surprisingly flexible. Her hair was pulled up, as always, and she was cracking her fingers, ready to get a good punch in.

Zushi, Killua, and Gon showed up before she went into the arena. "You can do it, Ali!" Gon said brightly, offering a high-five. Aliara smacked her gloved palm off his. Zushi nodded eagerly, offering his encouragement, and Aliara high-fived him too.

Killua shrugged casually. "You asked for this. Don't lose."

"You think I will?" she teased, smirking.

"His arm's dangerous," Killua warned, ignoring her taunt. "The missing one. That's part of his nen, I think."

Aliara swallowed, the nerves finally catching up to her. "Alright. I got this."

"And don't kill him, so we get the wins tomorrow."

"Fine, fine."

Gon and Zushi already had their backs turned, heading to their seats, and Killua took his chance to lunge forwards, hugging her briefly, before backing off. "See ya after!" he called over his shoulder, dashing after Zushi and Gon.

"Okay," Aliara agreed absentmindedly, her cheeks burning.

She huffed, cursed Killua, turned, and marched into the arena.

It was her first fight of the 200th floor, and it was evidently more well-attended than any match she'd participated in so far. The stands were packed, and the crowd was alive with chatter- but as she entered, the chatter increased to the volume of a roar. Sadaso was stalking out of his opposite entry point, and Aliara was pleased to see that he looked shaken up, even behind his mask. He didn't have the same confident smirk as before.

 _You did your job, Killua,_ Aliara thought with a smirk.

 _"Welcome to Aliara's debut match of the 200th floor, holding her clean record of 0 wins and 0 losses! Meanwhile, she's facing Sadaso, who has 6 wins and 2 losses! What is to become of this match?"_

The commentary was going to get on Aliara's nerves, she could tell.

 _"Weapons are allowed, although neither seems to be carrying anything. First to ten points wins, no time limit!"_ Ha. She didn't have to carry her weapons for them to be useful, now did she? _"Aliara, who went from the first floor to floor 200 with shoes, now wears platform shoes!"_

"Platform shoes?" Aliara repeated, insulted. They were so much more than that. She rolled up her sweater sleeves.

"Begin!" the ref called out.

Sadaso didn't move. The confident smirk had returned.

As fast as light, Aliara pulled out her right hand and fired a laser at Sadaso's leg- right under his kneecap. At least, that was where she thought it was through the cloak. There were cries of alarm from the audience as Sadaso winced, falling onto one knee. Aliara could've easily killed him, and he knew it. That was the whole point.

But no, she wanted to take this slow.

 _"As fast as a whip, Aliara makes the first move! She's awarded one point for a clean hit! Where did that laser come from?!"_

Sadaso still seemed to be smirking.

As if she heard someone's voice in her head, Aliara immediately activated gyo. 'Gyo' was a nen technique they'd been working on with Wing- concentrating all of one's nen energy to the eyes. It allowed the user to see someone else's nen abilities.

Sure enough, Aliara saw a ghostly hand and arm, darting at her.

 _Don't get caught in that._

Aliara let her nen energy fall and rolled to the side, avoiding the path of the arm, before switching gyo on again. Doing it for too long could sap energy faster than she could shoot. The arm had curved around.

So it wasn't straight like a bullet, and it could be commanded mid-flight. Interesting.

It wasn't horribly fast, either...

She slammed a button on her wrist, prayed that it was the one for the skates, and zoomed at Sadaso. Surprise lit up on his mask- obviously, the rookie crusher hadn't expected the rookie to see and avoid his ghost arm. She'd hit the right button- Aliara's skates propelled her at Sadaso and she whipped her left foot out in a wicked roundhouse kick to his face.

Sadaso flew out of the arena and across the floor, tumbling to a stop against the wall. Aliara retracted her wheels.

 _"A clean hit and a down for Aliara, bringing her to three points! A fantastic sequence of expert moves throws Sadaso out of the ring! His ghost arm has always been a threat to his opponent, but Aliara's just too fast!"_ The crowd was roaring in excitement.

Aliara would've grinned if she still wasn't planning a long and elaborate death. Sadaso was painfully getting to his feet. Aliara fired a laser at him from her glove, in his other leg, and he crumpled again.

 _"Again, the laser beam! It seems to be coming from her gloves- where can you buy those? No points are awarded- funny, the referee gave her the point for the first time."_

Aliara turned to the ref, who shrugged and suddenly looked a bit scared of what she might say. He probably did it for the good of the crowd- the fight would easily be over if she could just keep shooting him.

But he didn't know her true motives.

She beamed at him. "No problem."

And that was when she became encased in Sadaso's ghost arm.

Suddenly, Aliara understood the power of the arm. She couldn't move, breathe, or talk. Eventually, she would pass out. Sadaso was slowly limping back to the arena floor, grinning wickedly. The crowd was cheering, then murmuring with anxiety- at least, it looked like it. She couldn't hear very well.

The arm-less man pulled her over to the center of the arena as the announcer screamed, _"There it is! There's Sadaso's ghost arm!"_

How long had it been? Thirty seconds?

She remembered something somewhere about the average person being able to go for a minute and a half.

Through her assassination training, she'd learned to hold her breath for long periods of time. Her record was five minutes and nineteen seconds- again, not one of the top in her family, but better than the average human.

Now if she could just wait it out...

Aliara would've laughed if she could. Sneakiness and deceit was her specialty.

She let her eyes flutter shut (all the movement she could manage) and let herself go as limp as possible.

Maybe a minute now.

Another minute passed.

Oh, so he wasn't taking any chances.

Three minutes, at least. Aliara's lungs were starting to ache. She desperately wanted to open her eyes and look to see the crowd's reaction- but she couldn't, if she wanted to get out of this alive.

Four minutes. Much more than any kid should be able to take. Sadaso seemed to realize that too, because the nen around her vanished, and the sounds around her rushed at her ears like waves. Sadaso's ghost hand dropped her to the floor.

 _"With four minutes and ten seconds spent in Sadaso's ghostly trap, Aliara is most likely dead. The ref- Wait, what?!-"_

As soon as she could move, Aliara slapped the 'spring' button on her wrist watch, and jump pads stuck out of her shoes. She used the springs to twist, bounce, and leap at Sadaso, tackling him to the ground as she landed a fist in his face- on his mask.

The mask easily cracked and he went sprawling.

 _"She's alive! She's alive! How is that possible? The ref has awarded her two points for a critical hit!"_

Aliara flexed her hand and delivered a strong punch to Sadaso's gut. Although she was much more of a slasher than a striker, some talents were best left hidden for future opponents. If she let Sadaso's ghost hand catch her again, she was done for.

She kicked him away and jumped back, then gasped, inhaling deeply, realizing how much she actually needed the oxygen. Aliara coughed briefly and scowled. She'd just gotten four points- one clean hit, one critical hit, and one down, leaving her at seven.

She activated gyo, and saw the creepy arm darting at her from the fallen man.

She thought of the promise that this creep broke, by threatening Gon into setting up a fight.

She thought about all the newbies that probably deserved to be crushed by these idiot rookie crushers, but might have died or come out scarred for life.

Aliara screamed, and charged.

* * *

 **itzamarmeza:** Thanks for the review! You'll find out why he's there soon enough- but it may not be why you expect. XD

 **Akuma-Sama2002:** Thanks again for the reviews! Oh, I've got great plans and lines for when they get kidnapped by the spiders. I'm so excited for that part! When that time comes, the chapter will probably be out pretty quickly XD Yes, they've started picking up things about each other, and it's adorable. As for her nen? I had a solid idea. But I'm changing it around... Hmm... Thanks again! :)

 **masoliki1:** Yes, I'm so so excited for the manga! It's going to be great! :) I really hope there's no hiatus. Thanks for your review! :D

 **G:** Thank you! :)

 **Night Owl:** They're so cute, aren't they? :D Thanks so so much!

 **Guest:** LOVE THE SHIP NAME, Killara is so cute! I'm down for it! And thank you very much for the invitation, aha. Definitely coming. Thanks so much for the review! :D


	23. Disappointment

**Chapter 23: Disappointment  
**

Aliara was in her own personal bathroom, scrubbing her hands that were soaked in blood.

The gloves had worked well. Incredibly well. And so had the shoes. Everything seemed to be working out well.

So why was she so god damn disappointed?

Maybe it was because she didn't kill him.

"AAAAAH!" she cried out in frustration, punching out in front of her but stopping just short of the mirror. The fight had finished with a ten to nothing win, and Sadaso had been brutally beaten up, bloodied, and destroyed. But not quite dead.

She just wanted to _kill_ him. Was that too much to ask?

Fuming, Aliara sat herself down at her desk, and started tampering with the sunglasses she'd picked up the other day from town.

* * *

Minutes later, interrupting her precious building time, Killua and Gon came over.

"Oi! Idiot!" Killua said immediately, jabbing her forehead with his pointer finger, "you scared us! Holding your breath that long!"

"I scared you?" Aliara teased, grinning.

Gon lunged at her in a hug. "You did fantastic, Ali! You won!"

She smiled and hugged him back, enjoying the warmth that the slightly older boy emitted. "Thanks, Gon. At least _you_ appreciate it." She cast an accusing stare at Killua, who fumed angrily at him.

"I do appreciate it! But don't you get it? We all thought you were dead!"

Aliara rolled her eyes. "But I wasn't."

"Stop being so reckless," he scolded. Even though he sounded frustrated, his tone was affectionate. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Not while you two are around," she joked.

Gon pumped a fist in the air. "Not a chance!"

Killua rolled his eyes. "Whatever, idiot."

Aliara just laughed. What good friends she had.

* * *

Gon's rematch against Gido was quick and satisfying.

This time, he marched into battle with his trusty fishing rod. He used it to pull up the floor tile from under the spinning man, sending him tumbling to the ground, before he snapped Gido's peg leg. The crowd roared in approval as Gon was declared the winner.

It was Killua's fight against the wheelchair man, Riehvelt, that made Aliara anxious.

The fight started with Killua leaping faster than Aliara could follow, aiming for right above Riehvalt. As Killua swung from behind him, the man took off, propelling himself with his wheelchair. Killua missed.

"Come on, idiot!" Aliara hissed through her teeth. The moron had jumped a bit too high. She knew he could tell.

"Ne, are you okay, Ali?" Gon asked, looking at her with concern.

She blinked. "Yeah. Why?"

"You seem really tense."

Aliara laughed, shrugging. "I'm just nervous for the match. I have no doubt that Killua's going to win, though."

Gon nodded, satisfied, his eyes shining with determination. "Yeah. Killua's going to win!"

Meanwhile, on the arena floor, Riehvalt pulled out two long, red snake whips, and waved his arms around in a frenzy. It was like a shield, but Killua just regarded the snake whips with a bored expression. The wheelchair man cackled, "Sorry, this is a special attack! You have no chance of winning while I'm in this position!"

"Why?" Killua asked, genuinely confused.

Aliara fumed. She hated people who thought they could do something without any chance of failure.

"You should understand just by seeing it!" Riehvalt shrieked in glee, slowly rolling forward in his wheelchair. "It's impossible for a normal person to distinguish the motions I'm making! Looking at the size of the ring, you have nowhere to run or hide!"

She laughed. "Killua's going to be fine." Aliara turned to Gon, who was smiling. "He's not a normal person."

Killua seemed to be thinking on the same wavelength. He snatched both the whip ends out of the air, holding them both tightly, smiling innocently at Riehvalt. "Sorry. I'm not a normal person." The crowd cheered in awe.

Riehvalt hit a button on the whip handle. Electricity coursed through the cords and zapped Killua.

Aliara almost jumped. "Killua!" She had a bit a electricity training as an assassin, but not enough to withstand something like that. She could smell the smoke from here.

"You surprised me!" Riehvalt cried out in glee, a crazy grin splitting his face. "That's the first time someone's been able to do what you did. But someone before you managed to take out my whips, and it cost him several wounds. But for that kind of people, I planned this: a present of 1,000,000 volts!"

She had nothing to worry about. Killua tightened his grip on the whips and tossed the man right out of his wheelchair. As Riehvalt soared, screaming, Killua explained calmly that electricity had no effect on him.

Killua, the merciful asshole, caught Riehvalt while he was still conducting electricity. The man passed out, and Killua was declared the winner.

They all celebrated their wins with hugs and ice cream.

* * *

A day later, Killua won his 'match' against Sadaso, as the one-armed man refused to show up. This put Sadaso at four losses, and he was out, so Gon never ended up having to face him. The ghostly man was gone- which was a good thing, because if Aliara ever saw his face again she was going to slaughter him. Gido withdrew from both Killua and Aliara's matches, giving them easy wins.

The next match Aliara had was against Riehvalt. He was at two losses now, so if she won, Gon could still fight him.

And unlike Killua, Aliara couldn't withstand such high amounts of electricity. But she'd already thought of what she could do, and was more than prepared.

As soon as the match, Riehvalt pulled out his whips.

 _"Riehvalt wastes no time pulling out his defense! He must remember how Aliara's battle with Sadaso went!"_

She rolled her eyes, pulled out the laser on her gun and fired.

Her aim wasn't horrible- normally, it was pretty good. But the laser beam caught on one of the whips, and didn't get anywhere. She frowned- that wasn't going to work. With a sigh, Aliara tucked the laser back in, and narrowed her eyes at the whips.

 _"Looks like Aliara's laser isn't going to get through. Seriously, how did she get one of those?"_

For another solid minute, Aliara stood still, glaring at the whips, watching the pattern. Riehvalt cackled, thinking he'd won, and started advancing.

"Got it!" she cried out. She touched a hand to her cheek. "Damn, there's no way to avoid it."

"Obviously!" Riehvalt screeched in joy. "You'll-"

Aliara dove at the snake whips. Shutting her eyes, she weaved and twisted her way through the pattern she was conducting in her head, as fast as she possibly could. Grabbing them wasn't an option. Besides, the metal on her gloves was a fantastic conductor. She felt the burn across her cheek as one of the whips snapped at her.

She grabbed Riehvalt's wrists, and the flurry stopped.

"W..." he was lost for words.

 _"Fantastic!"_ the announcer howled, the crowd's roar providing evidence that the audience agreed with her statement. _"She dodged them all!"_

"No! Don't!" Riehvalt cried, starting to panic and squirm.

Aliara grinned. "Bye!"

Her fist slammed into his face.

Riehvalt passed out in his chair, and she was declared the winner. That was certainly her most satisfying victory.

Gon had to fight him the next day, and to the man's credit, he looked genuinely exhausted, having to deal with three inhumanly strong kids in a row. It just wasn't fair. Needless to say, Gon defeated Riehvalt without too much trouble at all. And finally, he scheduled a match with Hisoka. Gon was pumped, to say the least, but equally terrified, as he should be. The match wouldn't be easy.

They continued training with Wing, until the day came that would alter Aliara's nen use for... for just about ever.

"We're going to try hatsu," Wing explained.

The four stared at him with fascination in their eyes.

"Hatsu is divided into six categories," he continued, drawing a diagram on a sheet of paper. "What's important is to find the category that fits you. If you want to learn one of these six abilities, you have to find the one that fits you best, or else you'll have a lot of difficulty. Here."

He held up the picture. It was a hexagon. At the top point was the word 'Enhancer' and, in clockwise order, the points said: 'Transmuter', 'Conjurer', 'Specialist', 'Manipulator', and finally, 'Emitter'.

"Enhancers typically give more physical strength or increase the strength of objects," Wing explained carefully, pointing to each of the spots in turn. "Transmuters change the properties of their aura. Conjurers materialize new things using aura, and Manipulators can control materials. Emitters can project their aura, and Specialists are normally something completely unique."

Most of the words flew in one ear and out the other. But Aliara knew immediately; she wanted to be a Conjurer. How cool would it be to make things out of thin air?

Wing continued on to talk about the type of nen user Hisoka was, but Aliara was only half-listening. Her brain was already buzzing with ideas of what to do. She snapped her head up as Killua asked, "is there any way to know what category to belong to?"

Wing nodded.

A minute later, there was a goblet of water sitting on the table with a leaf carefully balanced on top. The water was filled to the brim.

"Water technique," Wing said. "We approach with our hands on either side of the glass, and thanks to the change that happens, we can understand." The glass overflowed, which shouldn't have been humanly possible.

"The water increased with his strength?" Gon said in disbelief.

Wing nodded, "that's a sign of enhancement."

"So... We don't get to choose?" Aliara asked, biting her lip.

The man shrugged. "Depending on your category, you can use abilities that are close to you on the hexagon, but they won't be as strong as the one that works best for you."

"So we don't get to choose," she repeated.

Wing shook his head.

Aliara cursed.

"You wanted to be a Conjurer, didn't you?" Killua asked, nudging her as Gon approached the glass.

She sighed, "yeah."

"You still could be. Wing was saying that our personalities might affect it."

Aliara perked up. "I hope so!"

Killua snickered at her.

As Gon held his hands out, concentrating on his ren, a drop of water leaked down the side of the glass. "Gon's an Enhancer!" Killua cried out, grinning. Zushi gave him a high five. The little martial artist went up to the glass next.

The leaf started to turn.

"The moving leaf is a sign of manipulation," Wing said, smiling. "Zushi is a Manipulator."

"Good job," Aliara told him, grinning. Zushi grinned back.

Killua tried it next, but nothing happened. Confused, Aliara glared at the glass. Wing dipped his finger in the water and tasted it, and they all followed suit. "It's sweet!" Aliara exclaimed, looking from the water to her finger.

"If the taste of the water changes," Wing advised, "it's a sign of transformation. Killua is a Transmuter."

Aliara's heart pounded. _Please, please, I want to be a Conjurer..._

"Give it a shot, Ali," Gon encouraged.

She moved to the glass, put her hands on either side, and concentrated.

The leaf caught on fire.

Zushi yelped, and Wing's eyes widened in surprise. Aliara was surprised herself. The tip of the leaf that was sticking out of the water had caught flame, but fizzled out after a few seconds, leaving a leaf without a tip. The fire wasn't anything big or special.

"...What?" Aliara trailed off.

"I've never seen that before," Wing mused. "I think that's the sign of a Specialist."

Aliara's heart fell.

 _Well, this sucks._

* * *

But little did she know, it was going to be the best thing ever.

* * *

 **Akirsch-Senpai:** Aha thank you so much! It means a lot when you say you're critical of stories like these but you like mine! That makes me so happy, thank you! :)

 **Akuma-Sama2002:** Thanks for pointing that line out. I was in a rush to get the chapter out- but I edited it, so I think it's fine now. Thanks for your review!

 **havanatitiana:** Thank you for the review! :)

 **Guest:** Thank you! :)

 **Night Owl:** Thank you! I'm so glad you like the ship name, thanks for your review! :)

 **kyro232:** You're definitely sparking my imagination... Thanks for the review! :)

 **Reading1Dragon:** Yes, the ship name is so cute! As for her holding her breath? That's very long for the average human, but the world record is over twenty minutes. Yikes. As for your riddle? I've heard that one before, I think it's your breath XD Very fitting for this chapter! You want a riddle? Okay... 'What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?' Thanks so so much for your review! **  
**

 **Tawnypelt37:** Thank you so so much! :)

 **TWO THINGS.**

 **1) The ship name, as picked by the reviewers, is Killara, and I absolutely love it.**

 **2) HXH MANGA UPDATED YESSSSSSSSS**


	24. Leaves

**Chapter 24: Leaves  
**

Wing sent them home to practice.

That was absolutely fantastic!

(Sarcasm.)

Aliara groaned and smacked her head off her desk, clenching her favorite screwdriver so tightly in her hands that she thought she may snap it. This was absolutely great, exactly what she wanted.

But...

Specialist didn't mean that she couldn't be a Conjurer. It just meant that she could be _more._

Getting over her temporary depression, Aliara shook her head, setting her screwdriver down on her desk. She was going to have to deal with it, and figure out something. Wing's words rang in her head- he had said them to her right before she left.

"Sometimes," he had said, "the changes that occur for a Specialist can provide a hint to what will happen with their nen in the future."

"Fire, huh?" Aliara mused, standing up.

Time to go gather some leaves.

A lot of them.

* * *

After accidentally setting her sleeve on fire, a couple complaints of the stench of burning leaves from her room, and a million leaves, Aliara went back to Wing's house with Gon and Killua to show how much they had advanced.

"Let's see the results of your training," Wing announced, pointing to the glass. "Gon, you go first."

Carefully, the dark-haired boy centered his hands around the glass. In a burst of energy, the water overflowed from the cup, plummeting to the table below and soaking the floor. Gon grinned sheepishly and Killua went up. Although there were no noticeable changes, when Aliara tasted the water, it was the sweetest thing she'd ever had.

"It's hyper sweetened!" Gon cried out, grinning.

"Very well done," Wing complimented. "Aliara, you're last."

She inhaled slowly, and settled herself behind the glass, pushing out her rough hands. She concentrated.

Nothing happened for a terrifying second.

Then, the leaf erupted- _erupted-_ into flame.

Zushi actually cried out and scuttled backwards. Killua and Gon gaped at the leaf as the entire thing burnt to a crisp within seconds, the flame so hot and sudden that there was nothing left except the smell of burnt leaves.

"There," Aliara said proudly.

"You're all very skilled," Wing admitted, smiling eerily.

"I would hope so," she grumbled back. "My room stinks of burnt leaves." The three boys laughed at her, and Aliara couldn't help but manage a grin.

Wing clapped his hands. "You've all passed. And congratulations to Gon. You passed the secondary Hunter's Exam!"

Aliara blinked. "Eh?"

"Huh?" Gon asked, cocking his head.

Wing started going on about how nen was essential to being a Hunter, and that Gon had to learn it to pass the 'secret' exam. He explained how Hisoka and Illumi (Aliara inwardly seethed when she heard his name) had already passed, because they both knew nen already. Kurapika was currently learning, as well as Hanzo and Pokkle, although the archer was having some difficulties.

"Killua, Aliara." He adjusted his glasses. "You should both take the exam again next year. You have all the necessary qualities, I assure you."

"If I feel like it," Killua said casually, shrugging.

Aliara punched his shoulder playfully. "C'mon ghost boy, we'll do it together."

"Stop calling me that, idiot," he growled back. "Sunshine."

Her face twisted into a scowl, "and I told you not to call me that!"

"Well-"

"Hey!" Gon stepped in between them, grinning nervously. "You two can argue later."

Aliara shrugged and backed off, smirking at Killua. The evil little child smirked right back at her.

* * *

Gon's match against Hisoka was the next day, and his two best friends got their seats as quickly as possible. Aliara was tinkering with her gloves before the match, as per usual. "Do you ever leave those alone?" Killua groaned, glaring at the gloves.

Aliara pouted. "No. The finger laser thing isn't working properly, and I'm trying to figure out- Ha! Got it!" Cheerfully, Aliara removed a tiny sprocket that looked like it was too small to even be picked up. Killua rolled his eyes as she tucked it inside a container the size of her finger. "Should be fine now."

"So, what's next on the inventing agenda?" he mused.

"Sunglasses, probably."

"Wait, you're actually going to do those?" Killua asked, sitting up straight in his seat.

Aliara stared at him with a blank expression on her face. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

Killua exhaled loudly and sank down in his seat. "Whatever."

Hisoka and Gon both walked out onto the arena floor. The crowd was ballistic- after all, this match decided if Hisoka could challenge a Floor Master or if he had to go back down to the bottom. "Wait a second," Aliara said suddenly. "It's July 10th today, right?"

The white-haired boy cocked his head at her, blinking his wide, adorable eyes. "Yeah. So?"

"We missed your birthday!" Aliara cried, throwing her hands in the air. "It was July 7th!"

"Yeah," Killua said, "so?"

"I'm such a horrible friend," Aliara groaned, sinking down in her seat and burying her head in shame. "I forgot your birthday. I can't believe it."

"Oi, Ali!" Killua yelped as an aura of depression sunk in around the black-haired girl. "It's no big deal."

"Yes, it is," she moaned dramatically. "I promised myself I wouldn't forget it. And I did."

Killua rolled his eyes at her dramatics. "Ali, we never really celebrate birthdays around the house. It's not a big deal."

"Neither do we," Aliara said sadly, hitting herself in the head, "and I figured you wouldn't. That's why I wanted to make sure I remembered yours." Killua went silent. He'd assumed the same thing- that they didn't really celebrate birthdays in her rich household. But to think that she cared enough to try and work around it was touching. He felt his cheeks heating up.

"That's too bad for you," she announced, "because after the match we're going out."

"Eh?!"

"We're going out for ice cream," Aliara declared, "and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Ali-"

"No buts," she said firmly.

Killua found himself smiling, and he rolled his eyes. "Can't argue with that logic."

She smiled back at him, her own cheeks flushing. "Duh."

But then the match started, and they both turned their eyes back to the arena floor.

Gon charged at Hisoka, and they exchanged a blur of kicks and punches. Hisoka mostly just avoided them all, only occasionally knocking Gon back. As soon as he did, like rubber, the boy bounced back again, determined to land a hit on Hisoka. More blocks and more hits were exchanged until Hisoka landed a definitive blow at Gon's jaw. The boy skidded backwards, growling.

The crowd roared. Aliara shook her head. "The strength difference between them is still unreal."

"I think he knows that," the white-haired boy mused, leaning forwards. "But he's so determined to land a hit and give the tag back."

They both fell into silence as Gon charged again with a long series of feints before diving out of the way and pressing his fingers on the cold tile of the arena floor. With a heave, he uplifted the floor panel that must have been twenty or thirty times his size.

The announcer was ecstatic, screaming about how such a small boy could have so much strength. Aliara had to admit, she was impressed. As Gon tossed it in the air, he struck the center of it- hard- with his boot. The tile split into chunks that paraded at Hisoka. The clown blocked the all, dodging some and striking down the others. Gon used the rubble to his advantage, hiding behind it until he had the perfect opportunity to slug Hisoka across the face.

"Yes!" Aliara cried before slamming her mouth shut just as quickly. Killua rolled his eyes at her. Gon was awarded two points for a critical hit.

The tag exchange was performed, leaving the crowd confused. But Killua and Aliara understood perfectly. Hisoka began talking about nen, asking Gon what he'd learned. "You're an Enhancer, aren't you?~" the jester trilled.

Gon didn't even try to mask his surprise. Aliara frowned. "Is there any way to tell?" she mused. "Many a nen form or something?"

Killua shrugged, but Hisoka was still talking. "The ones who are Enhancers are simple and pure."

 _That's true,_ Aliara thought, staring down at Gon.

"I'm a Transmuter," he continued, smirking. "Unstable and a liar." Without meaning to, Aliara glanced at Killua, who was watching Hisoka quietly and intently. _That's true too._ "Enhancers and Transmuters get along very well, because of contrasting personalities."

Aliara blinked. _Say something about Specialists, moron._

Alas, he didn't. Hisoka charged, and the fight continued, becoming incredibly one-sided. Hisoka gained a lead, and in an instant, pulling Gon to the ground, seemingly with nothing. Aliara and Killua activated their gyo, and saw a thin line connecting Gon and Hisoka that the jester seemed to be leading by his finger. It was his nen. Aliara growled and clenched her fists angrily.

"That's cheap," she hissed through her teeth. Killua didn't give any indication that he heard her.

Hisoka ultimately won the match. Despite Gon's best efforts, the referee awarded some points to Hisoka that he didn't really deserve. Gon was frustrated (Aliara was even more so) but the pink-haired asshole marched away, smirking coyly.

It was over.

"Come on," Aliara said, standing up. She turned to Killua and grinned. "Let's go get that ice cream."

He grinned back, and they took off.

* * *

Ice cream was great, Gon was feeling fine, and everything was good.

After their delicious dessert, Killua suggested they adventure back to Gon's house on Whale Island. The two others agreed. Aliara was looking forward to meeting his aunt, who Gon had talked so passionately about. They all went back to Heaven's Arena to pack up their belongings.

So, of course Aliara ran into her brother there.

He was in the same hallway as her, and thankfully, Killua and Gon were already gone. Aliara uncomfortably shifted her backpack back onto her shoulder. "What do you want?"

This sibling was Fukinoro, who was fourteen years old but the most emotionless person Aliara had ever met. His blank eyes scanned hers. "Training. Didn't expect to see you here."

Aliara breathed a sigh of relief. This was good, because it meant her mother wasn't actively hunting her down yet. "That's good then, I guess. But I'm leaving now."

"You made quite the breakout."

"Yeah, I guess. Was Adrianna upset?"

Fukinoro shrugged, his face still blank. "She fired any of the staff that came in contact with you on your way out. Ano got quite the scolding and the usual punishment." Aliara winced. That meant torture. "He's fine."

"Good," she said. "Are you going to tell her I was here?"

He shrugged again. "Only if she asks."

Aliara supposed that this was the best she was going to get. She smirked at him. "Alright. I'll see you around then."

"Hopefully not," was the final reply she got before she closed the door to her room. But Aliara smirked- typical behavior.

She started jamming tools into her bag.

Good bye, Heaven's Arena.

* * *

 **Akirsch-Senpai:** Thank you! I was trying my best to make the fights sound realistic (it's honestly very difficult sometimes). Thank you so much for the feedback! It means a lot! :)

 **EvilSquirrelsFans:** Aha, I'm so glad you're satisfied with what she got! Thank you! :)

 **Night Owl:** As always, thank you so so much for the positive and encouraging feedback! You make me smile every time! :)

 **masoliki1:** She's going to raise a lot of hell with her nen... XD Thanks for the review! :D

 **Reading1Dragon:** Good, I got it right! :) I spent a while pondering your riddle, actually, and I'm drawing a blank :P I've got NOTHING. Oops. Thank you very much for the review! :D **  
**

 **Guest:** The Phantom Troupe will make their appearance, worry not. Thanks for the review!

 **Guest:** I know that Specialist is a pretty common theme among OCs, and I apologize for that. But it seemed like the best idea for what I'm planning in the future. If you want more details, read my note at the end. :) I'm so glad you're still enjoying the story! Thank you very much!

 **BiscuitBrisket123:** Your review honestly made me so so happy! I've always wanted someone to say they've done that with one of my stories because it means so much and it shows that the story kept your attention! Thank you so much for your dedication (Aliara makes me question my sexuality too) and your review is definitely one I won't forget for a while. Thank you so so much! :) :D

 **G:** Thank you so much! :D

 **I was actually very worried about how the nen thing would go. It seemed most people liked it, which was good! Yes, Aliara was originally planned to be a Conjurer, but after reading a bunch of reviewers, I started getting other ideas. I know that the OC being a Specialist is pretty typical, but I promise, I'll try my best to work with it! Thank you for the positive feedback!**

 **Aaaah, it's my birthday today :) Happy 16th to me!~**


	25. Happy

**Chapter 25: Happy  
**

Mito was exactly like Aliara expected: kind, caring, passionate, and beautiful. The ideal mother.

Gon's house was small, quaint, and adorable.

Aliara was enjoying every single second of it.

Mito was scolding Gon, complaining that he should've called if he was coming home, while Gon apologized over and over, grinning sheepishly the entire time. Aliara sat quietly in a chair next to the table, unsure of what to say or do. "Take a bath before supper," Mito commanded next, glaring at Gon. "And I'll take out all of your clothes and wash them."

"Okay, later," Gon agreed.

"NOW!"

All three of them stood up immediately. Killua and Gon dashed upstairs, but Aliara remained behind as Mito counted down from ten. When she finished, sighing, Aliara heard the sound of running water from upstairs. Mito turned back to her. "Aliara, right?"

"Yes," she agreed, shaking her head. She was way too used to being formal at other people's houses. And Mito's house was just so small.

"Would you like to help me with supper?" she asked kindly. Aliara was startled. "You can have a bath later if you'd like."

She blinked, her mouth gaping open like a fish. "I... Uh... Yes, please. I'd love to."

"So polite," Mito said with a giggle. "So, what would you like to do?"

Aliara's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. "I don't really know what to do. Can... Can you show me?"

The next half hour was more fun than Aliara would've expected. She helped Mito set the table, cook the meat, prepare the food, and clean up afterwards. Mito seemed surprised by Aliara's lack of abilities in the kitchen (or anything in the house, for that matter) and guided her through everything gently, without judgement. Aliara was completely overwhelmed, and feeling pretty helpless. Nevertheless, she had fun.

When they sat down together, the boys looking much better, they all ate. Aliara couldn't remember sitting down to a dinner that she had actually enjoyed herself at in a while. She didn't remember ever serving herself food. More or less, she copied Gon's lead.

"How was the exam?" Mito asked.

Gon grinned, swallowing his food. "It was really difficult. Only 400 people actually got to the exam place, and only 7 actually passed." He pulled out his Hunter's license and gave it to Mito.

"Looks ordinary," she mused, bending the card in her hand.

After dinner, and Aliara' bath (which was so tiny and small that she almost didn't know what to do), the trio set out into the forest to explore. Mito waved good bye, smiling. Aliara breathed a sigh of relief- fresh air and an escape from the small cottage was exactly what she needed. They followed Gon in what was almost a guided tour- to the place that he met a man named Kite as a kid to one side of the island he always went swimming at. They stopped by the water's edge, and within a few minutes, had caught half a dozen fish and were cooking them over the fire.

The fish were really good, Aliara noticed. Not pretty or expensive.

Aliara sighed, her stomach full, and lay back on the stone, gazing up at all the stars in the sky. They dotted the blackness like freckles, and some were brighter than others. Killua huffed and lay down next to her, crossing his hands behind his head. Gon lay on the other side of Killua.

"Gon," Killua asked, his voice echoing, "what are you going to do now?"

"Well... I'll collect information in August and start looking for my father in Yorknew City. There'll probably be a lot of hunters there." Gon smiled, his voice full of confidence.

Killua spoke again. "How about you, Ali?"

"Me?" she squeaked, eyes widening.

"Unless you know another Ali."

Aliara knit her eyebrows. "You're funny. Well... I don't really know. I don't have anything to do, I guess. Stay on the run, probably. No doubt my mom is looking for me." She swallowed down the bitter taste in her mouth. "How about you, Killua?"

"Same boat as you, I guess," he replied with a sigh. "What should I do?"

"I think that you both should stay here," Gon said happily, sitting up, "and come to Yorknew with me."

"Gon," Killua said slowly, sitting up, "You're great. I mean, I don't have things I want to do. I have plenty of things I don't want to do. Like staying home, or taking on the family business."

"Same for me," Aliara added, finally sitting up. "I don't want to go home. I don't want to get married."

"Wait, what?!"

Aliara blinked at them, her expression completely neutral while they wore expressions of shock or fury. "What?"

"Married?" Killua choked. "You're getting married?"

"I was," she snorted, glaring at her shoes. "My mother had a marriage all planned out for me, with some rich family out there somewhere. We were actually having dinner with them when you guys visited. If I go home, I'm probably getting married off."

Gon's eyes were wide. "Wow."

"Why didn't you tell us this?!" Killua raged, glaring at her.

Aliara glared right back, "What? It's not exactly casual conversation!"

"Anyways," Gon coughed.

"Right," the black-haired girl agreed, turning away from the white-haired boy. Killua huffed.

"I'm happy when I'm with you guys," Gon said suddenly.

Aliara's face flushed. That was just about the most heartfelt thing she'd ever had a guy saw to her. "You- You what?"

"Don't say stuff like that so suddenly," Killua scolded, his cheeks also flushed red.

"You two are my first friends," the dark-haired boy said, smiling up to the stars.

"Same with me," Killua agreed.

She nodded along in the dark. "Same with me too."

"Are you two happy when you're with me?" Gon asked. It wasn't even a needy question- it was completely out of curiosity. It made Aliara want to laugh.

"I guess," Killua grumbled.

Aliara beamed. "Always, Gon."

"I can't say the same for Sunshine, though," came Killua's clear voice.

She turned angrily on Killua, her face red. "Hey, you stupid-"

"Will you two ever stop arguing?" Gon asked with a laugh. They both shut up, clamping their jaws shut. Aliara fumed. _Does this mean he doesn't like spending time with me? Was he joking? I can't tell._ "Let's go different places and see different things, then. I'll look for my father, and you two can look for whatever you want to do. It'll be fun!"

Aliara completely, sincerely, believed him. "Sounds like fun."

Killua was grinning now. "I guess so."

The trio fell back, lapsing in silence, until they all cracked and started telling stories. Everything from stories to jokes to made up tales, and soon, Aliara was laughing so hard her gut hurt. Eventually, when at least an hour had passed, they decided to head back. Gon didn't want to worry Mito. But it was the way back that made Aliara's heart hurt and flutter at the same time.

"Hey, Killua," Aliara said slowly, gathering up all the courage she could as the white-haired boy slowed down to walk with her. "Do you... uh, you... actually not like spending time with me?" The last part came out like a blur and Aliara felt her cheeks burn.

"What?" Killua asked, his own cheeks flushing red. "Moron, of course not. I'm just teasing you." He glared at her pointedly. "How could you be so stupid?"

Now Aliara's face was red from anger, not embarrassment. "How was I supposed to know, idiot?! You literally said you weren't happy around me!"

"Well that's just stupid!" he retorted. "You weren't supposed to take it like that!"

The black-haired girl threw her hands in the air in exasperation. _What the hell?!_ "How was I supposed to take it, then? Moron!"

"I'm always happy around you, idiot!"

Aliara stopped short, the insult dying on her tongue.

Killua stopped too. If possible, his cheeks burned even brighter. "I- I didn't mean it like that! I-"

She smirked. "So you're not happy around me, then?"

"Sunshine, you are officially the most aggravating person I've ever met!" Killua shook his head, sighing.

"Oi, Ghost Boy, you're definitely up there."

"I _am_ happy around you, okay?" Killua huffed, jamming his hands in his pockets and looking away. "Don't make me say it again."

Oh, twice was more than enough for Aliara. Her heart was pounding in her chest, like it was trying to break out of her rib cage. "Thanks, Killua," she said happily, exhaling slowly. "I'm happy around you, too."

Her sharp emerald eyes didn't miss Killua's worried glance at her shoulder. She paused, looking down at herself, and realized that the edge of the jagged red scar was poking out from her teal tank top. Killua frowned, his blue eyes wide. "But-"

"You can't seriously still be thinking about that, can you?" Aliara said in exasperation, rolling her eyes. "That'll be there for a while, so you better get used to it."

Killua swallowed nervously. "I know. But I can't see why you'd still want to be friends with me."

"You already apologized, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Then there's nothing to worry about," she declared firmly, glaring at him. "And I don't care about it. I already told you, it's fine. Barely even felt a thing." Killua looked like he was about to object, but Aliara cut him off again. "Now is not the time for self-pity, Ghost Boy. I'm still your friend because I like you, and I'm happy hanging around you. Okay?"

He rolled his eyes; but the smile was back. His smile widened into a mischievous grin, "Did you just say you liked me?"

"W- What?!" Aliara squeaked, cheeks suddenly so hot that it felt like she was melting. "No! I didn't!"

"Yes, you did! You said you were still my friend because you liked me."

"I- I didn't mean it like that! Idiot! Idiot, idiot, idiot!" Aliara waved her hands desperately at her cheeks, willing them to fade back to skin color. She huffed angrily, and broke into a run; Gon was at least a good twenty seconds in front of them, obviously realizing they needed space. "You're so weird, Ghost Boy!"

"Says you, Sunshine!" he called back, breaking into a run right behind her. It was like a weight had been lifted off of Killua's chest. _I like you too,_ he thought as the blush crept up on his cheeks again. _Idiot._

* * *

 **Akirsch-Senpai:** Oh, I had so much cake, it's not even funny how much I ate. Thank you for your feedback! :D :D

 **masoliki1:** Thank you, my sweet 16 was great! Yes, I've read the recent chapter of Hunter X Hunter. I LOVE IT, but now I have to reread most of the recent chapters to understand what's going on :P Thanks so much! :)

 **Night Owl:** Aww, thank you so much! Your review made me laugh XD Thank you! :D

 **Reading1Dragon:** Despite the hint, I still have no clue... Agh. I'm hopeless. Nothing wrong with being obsessed with gloves! Thank you so much! :) **  
**

 **Guest:** Yes, I've seen so many stories where the OC is stronger than everyone. I'm trying so, so hard to make it the opposite (heeelp) and it seems to be working. Not making your OCs overpowered is tough XD Thank you SO so much for the review and the feedback! I loved it! :D

 **Guest:** Kicking each other's brother's asses... Sounds like fun. XD Thanks for the review! :)

 **G:** Thank you! :) :)

 **IronyIsMyName:** Aha, thank you for the birthday wishes and the review! :)

 **Vegadawn:** I'm literally squealing; people who binge-read my stories within a few days or such make me so happy! I'm so glad that you're enjoying their interactions and nicknames for each other- the nicknames just kinda popped out of nowhere and just stuck XD And YES, that is exactly how I pronounce her name. Thank you so so much for your long review! :)

 **mel:** THANK YOU SO MUCH! :D

 **HAPPY BIRTHDAY KILLUA MY SUNSHINE CHILD I LOVE YOU TO THE MOON AND BACK :))))))))**


	26. Bounty

**Chapter 26: Bounty  
**

The next morning, the trio had quite the adventure with a cassette tape that Ging had left behind. After listening with rapt attention (and really learning nothing new), Gon, Killua, and Aliara looked at the rest of the stuff that was in the box that Mito had given Gon, from Ging.

There was a gaming card, and a ring.

Killua instantly went to a computer and started searching for games, trying to fill Gon in as he went. Aliara took her gloves out of her bag and started tinkering with them. She scrunched her toes up in her shoes- yep, still pretty comfortable.

"You haven't played games at all, have you?" Killua was asking their oblivious friend.

Uninterested, Aliara went back to her tinkering.

Later, Killua picked up a Joystation. Aliara had seen them before- Kuro, Yuno, and Libro were pretty hardcore gamers. She wasn't half bad herself. Killua looked at the card, and made a copy of it.

Greed Island.

Oh, she knew what _that_ was.

"Greed Island," Gon mused, turning to Killua. "Have you heard of it?"

"Nope," Killua replied, shaking his head.

"I have," Aliara put in, leaning forwards.

Both of the boys swiveled towards her. Aliara tucked her gloves back in her backpack. "What is it?" Gon asked, frowning.

"Only one of the most expensive games of all time," the black-haired girl said with a shrug, tucking her long bangs absently behind her ear. "I actually think it's the most expensive. It was on sale at the Yorknew City Auction last year, when I went." She shook her head. "It went for over 20 billion jennis."

"What?!" the two boys cried in unison.

Aliara nodded. "My brothers really wanted the game. But my mother said it was pointless, and that we didn't need anymore 'distractions' from training." She swallowed the bitter taste in her mouth. "Anyways, I think through auctions is the only way that these games could be bought. They're not really available anymore."

Killua sighed. "We have about one billion, two hundred million between us, thanks to Heaven's Arena."

"Great," Gon said with a moan, and they all sighed collectively.

Later, they tried posting something online, but Killua easily deduced that the few hundred people that wanted to make them offers were just trying to sell them fakes. Killua ended up calling his brother- when Aliara heard him say "brother" into the phone, her mind immediately went to Illumi, and she was about to lunge at the phone and give that sorry bastard a piece of her mind when Killua assured her it was a different brother.

After talking to his brother- _not_ Illumi, Aliara reminded herself- Killua hung up. "I had to give away the copy of the card," he said, "but I got two pieces of information. We have to use the Hunter Website."

Gon immediately went to his home computer before Aliara and Killua dragged him back. "Let's use a public one," Aliara suggested.

"These can be traced," Killua agreed.

Gon pouted, but agreed.

"The other clue is the auction in Yorknew City," the assassin continued, causing Aliara to perk up. "But in any case, we're going to need a lot of money."

Money. It used to be something that she didn't have an issue with.

Aliara looked at her bag and immediately felt guilty. If she hadn't spent so much on the gloves, maybe they'd have more...

Or maybe she could contact her family. Get some money from there... Or...

She bit her lip, and pushed the idea to the back of her head.

Killua got an address, in Yorknew City, and the trio headed out there as soon as they could. They took a ship, only after they said good-bye to Mito. Aliara changed into a set of navy blue jean shorts and a long-sleeved black-shirt. She still kept her hair up, obviously. They made it to Yorknew with no difficulties, picked out a hotel they could stay at, and set out for the tavern. The place was nice enough, but had ripped bounty posters across the wall. The tavern was half empty; filled with odd characters.

Something caught Aliara's eye, and she froze up.

"Ne, what is it?" Gon asked.

She unfroze, and smiled, shaking her head. "Nothing to worry about. I'm going to wait out here, okay? You guys can go ahead."

Gon fell for it. He smiled and nodded, waving at her before he went inside. Knowing him, he probably saw through it and just thought that Aliara needed space. Killua, however, narrowed his eyes at her. He obviously didn't buy the phony act she was putting up, and Aliara cursed him for being so perceptive. "What is it?"

"I'll tell you later," she promised, keeping her expression neutral. "But not here."

He sighed, rolled his eyes, and went after Gon.

As soon as they vanished out of her sight, Aliara almost sprinted for the bounty posters wall. Among the grungy faces of crooks and dirty, rumpled posters sat one perfectly clean poster- brand new. The picture was someone Aliara knew all too well- actually, it was a picture of herself.

 _Daughter of the Lorvell Family Missing_

 _50 000 000 jennis reward for information leading to return_

 _10 000 000 000 reward for return_

The picture was of Aliara, standing for a formal picture in a royal blue ball gown, with her hair hung down in elaborate curls. Not exactly an accurate picture, but still a picture of her nonetheless.

She tore down the poster angrily, and ripped it into tiny shreds.

It's started.

* * *

Gon and Killua came back from the tavern later, still clueless to her problem. Killua kind of glared at her at one point, but she ignored it.

"We're having a competition," Gon said excitedly. "To see which one of us can make the most money until the end of August. We both kinda blew most of our money trying to buy rare treasures."

"IDIOTS!" Aliara cried out, whacking them both on the head, glaring heavily at the pair of morons. "You two wasted all our money?!"

"Not all of it!" Killua protested. "We still have about twelve million."

"You guys wasted so much," she moaned putting her head in her hands. "I can't believe it."

Killua rolled his eyes, "Anyways, Gon and I are going to have a competition to see who can make the most money by the end of August, the 31st. Wanna join?" He and Gon looked at each other and shared a devilish smirk.

She shook her head. "No way. I'm done with money for a while. But I'll let you guys go through on your little contest on a few conditions."

"You'll _let_ us?!" Killua demanded incredulously.

"Number one," she declared, holding up a finger in Gon's face, "You two check in with me every now and then. I'll probably stay at the hotel and train or something. But I just want to know where you are. Sound good?"

Gon nodded, but Killua just glared at her. "Second, you two have to come back for my birthday. Okay?"

"What day is that?" Gon asked.

"August 8th." Aliara crossed her arms, trying to hide her smile. "I just want to spend my birthday with you guys. Does that work?"

The dark-haired boy nodded enthusiastically. Killua rolled his eyes, grumbling, but nodded. "What are you, our mother?"

She flushed. "No! I just want to make sure you guys will be okay!"

"We'll be fine. Right, Gon?"

"Yep!"

Aliara shook her head, smirking. "Alright. I'll see you guys around. You both know what hotel we're at." She leaned forward and gave Gon a big hug, and he hugged her back eagerly in return. "Don't do anything stupid. I'll see if I can make my own money."

"We won't!" he replied, letting go.

She turned hesitantly to Killua, who had his hands in his pockets and was regarding her with what looked almost like suspicion. There was a faint trace of blush on his cheeks, though; she was sure hers were flushed. Besides, if she hugged Gon and not him, that'd just be weird, right? Right?!

Aliara leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Killua's shoulder, hugging tight. She felt his arms wrap around her waist, and his head on her shoulder. "You be safe too," he murmured, so quietly she almost missed it. Her heart hammering so loudly that Aliara was sure that there was no way he couldn't have heard it, she broke off, grinning sheepishly at Killua.

"I'll be fine, it's you two I'm worried about."

Killua scoffed, grinning. "Whatever."

The two boys took off, eager to get started. Aliara rolled her eyes, and waited until they were gone; then she wrapped her arms around herself and squealed.

* * *

A week and a half passed. Gon had checked in about four times (in which Aliara greeted him with friendliness and happiness) and Killua checked in once (in which they bickered and argued). But nevertheless, Aliara was just glad they were all okay.

She decided to take some of that time to think about her Hatsu technique.

The Hatsu technique, in short, was supposed to be the technique that you actually decided to turn your nen into. Something like Kastro's double or Hisoka's gum or whatever it was.

And Aliara had absolutely no idea what to do.

Which brought her back to her last resort.

The black-haired girl held the phone up in her hand, hissed through her teeth, and started dialing the number off the card that their mentor had given them before they left. The buttons all made polite ringing sounds. Aliara held the phone up to her ear.

 _"Hello?"_

"Oh- Wing. Uh, hi. It's Aliara."

 _"Aliara?"_ His voice was more surprised than anything else. _"I never thought you'd be the first to call me."_

Aliara scowled, gripping the phone tightly. "Please let me be clear in saying that this is my last resort."

 _"I'm just pleased that this was even an option."_ He chuckled lightly. _"What can I do for you?"_

"I'm trying to figure out what I want my Hatsu technique to be," Aliara admitted with a sigh, scuffing her shoes against the pretty hotel carpet. "And I don't know where to start. Specialist is really broad. The only thing I have at all is that I wanted to be a Conjurer."

 _"Do you remember what I told you?"_

"No offense, but no."

 _"Most Specialist nen users actually tend to gain a hint about what their Hatsu technique is through how their water divination technique went."_

Aliara rolled her eyes. "So, fire."

 _"Fire,"_ Wing agreed. _"Do you have any idea about what to do with that?"_

She shrugged, then realized he couldn't see her, and said, "Not really. I mean, I've basically swam in fire before, so I'm pretty resistant, I guess. But I wanted to make stuff, and if I'm supposed to..."

Aliara trailed off.

 _"I think you've got it,_ _"_ Wing said into the silence.

"Yes!" Aliara jumped off the bed and was about to hang up the phone before she remembered that Wing was still there. "I mean, thanks. Wing. I think." Wing's muffled laughter was the last thing she heard before she hung up the phone, set it on the nightstand, and immediately grabbed her bag to go out.

She needed a lighter.

* * *

 **AmezardH:** Aha, thank you! I think they're pretty cute too :)

 **Night Owl:** Aliara is honestly such a huge dork! She's adorable. Thank you, as always, for your lovely review :)

 **Reading1Dragon:** Ohh, gas makes sense. Huh, I had no idea. AHHH yes they're so darn cute! Anyways, to your other riddle- it's one I've heard before, and the answer is nothing. Thanks for the review! :) **  
**

 **Guest:** Awww that picture sounds so cute :P And definitely. I don't believe Gon is an innocent as he seems, and he's certainly going to pick up on his best friends' feelings at some point. This mischievous little boy is going to cause a bit of trouble ;D Thanks for the review! :)

 **G:** Thank you! :D

 **havanatitiana:** I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Their conversation at the end was lots of fun to write :) Thanks for your review!

 **Vegadawn:** Aww, thank you so so much! :) Thanks for the review! :D

 **Kaito1412:** Thank you so much! Yes, her siblings will be making more appearances in future chapters, don't worry. Thanks for the review! :)


	27. Binding

**Chapter 27: Binding  
**

Time flew.

Her birthday came and went, and to her eternal happiness, both the boys kept their promise. They went out for ice cream- _again,_ it seemed to be quite a tradition between them now- and Gon even surprised her with a few packs of her favorite chocolate. How this sweet boy remembered that, she'd never know.

Time passed even quicker after that. Aliara spent her free time either training or trying to win contests out in the streets of Yorknew. She beat a guy at arm wrestling and apparently, that wasn't a common thing- it was almost funny, the look on his face. She'd won some cash from that, and she made her own fair share of money.

September 1st arrived, and she was pumped for the auction to begin. And to see Gon and Killua again, because she hadn't seem them in a while. Since her birthday, in fact. Aliara changed into navy blue jean shorts and a scoop-neck burgundy color top, pocketed the lighter, adjusted her shoes and her gloves, and took off to meet with Gon and Killua. Somewhere in the streets of Yorknew, probably.

And she couldn't wait.

* * *

"Aargh," Killua groaned up to the sky, lacing his fingers behind his head. "I would've made twelve times what I had."

"It's wrong to gamble to earn money," Gon scolded, frowning at his best friend. The contest had finished, and while Killua had blown most of the money he had, Gon had successfully made about 15 000. Not much, but definitely more than Killua.

"Oh, shut up," he said, glaring at Gon. "You could've made so much more."

Gon shrugged, "A win is a win." He grinned sheepishly at him. "You have to do one thing that I tell you to."

"Fine."

"Okay," he continued, a devilish grin sprouting on Gon's face, "I want-"

"Wait! Hold it!" Killua waved his arms above his head. "We're doing this now?!"

The dark-haired boy grinned. "Yep! You're probably going to need some time to get this done, anyways."

A knot formed in Killua's stomach, but he kept it cool. Maybe something ridiculous. "O- Okay. Idiot. What is it?"

"I want you," Gon said dramatically, grinning coyly at Killua, "to tell Aliara how you feel about her."

A heartbeat's silence passed. Killua's face lit up firetruck red and he smacked the boy across the head. "Idiot! Moron! I don't like her like that! Idiot! Stupid, stupid, moron!" With every insult, he smacked Gon another time, but the other boy was enjoying Killua's embarrassment too much to care.

"Your reaction is different than your words," Gon pointed out, starting to enjoy the different shades of red Killua's face was taking on.

"But- Moron- No- I-"

"I'm not stupid, Killua," Gon snickered, glancing up knowingly at his best friend. "I've seen the way you look at her. And the way you talk to her. And-"

"You sound like some creepy stalker!" Killua protested, his face still flushed.

"-And I'm pretty sure she likes you too."

Killua sputtered, "Pretty sure?!"

"And it's annoying," he announced casually, "watching you guys like each other and flirt and stuff without doing anything about it. I give you full permission to go for it, as long as I don't start being a third wheel." Gon, so calmly that it made Killua want to tear his hair out, laced his fingers and tucked them behind his head, relaxing.

"Permission?!" the white-haired boy cried out, waving his hands. Killua calmed himself down quickly, pouting and crossing his arms across his chest. "It's not like that." But Gon's words still rang in his ear. _I'm pretty sure she likes you too._

"So, that's what I want you to do," the boy said cheerfully, ignoring Killua. "I know I can't expect you to do it right away, so take your time. Look for the signs. I'm not oblivious."

Killua sighed and trotted after his best friend, cursing Gon's intuition.

Well, shit.

* * *

Aliara only ended up running into them when they got back to the hotel, and she was a bit ticked off. The two boys were with Leorio, discussing what sounded like important business. Probably what they had for dinner, knowing them.

When Leorio saw her, his eyes widened. "Oi, Aliara! Good to see- Oomph!"

Leorio was cut on when Aliara leaped at him in a hug, so happy to see this guy still alive and well. "It's good to see you too," she mumbled into his suit jacket, squeezing his tightly. The doctor made a strangled noise and she backed off, beaming at him.

She turned to the two boys. "Honestly, you two. I wandered around for just about _ever_ trying to find you guys. Where were you?"

Killua rolled his eyes, but his face was definitely flushed- more so than usual. Maybe it was just her imagination. Gon was grinning- but it was more of a smirk than a happy-go-lucky smile. He glanced quickly at Killua, and his face got even redder. Gon turned back to Aliara and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, Ali. We were out for a while before we found Leorio." Okay, that was all definitely her imagination.

"That's fine, then," she coughed, blushing herself (for whatever reason). "What're you guys talking about now?"

"The auction," Leorio answered simply, unaware of any tension in the room whatsoever. "Figuring out what the best way is to make money."

Aliara nodded along, then hopped up on the arm of the chair that Killua was sitting in. This was a topic she was familiar with. When you come from a rich, business-like household, it's a common thing to know. "I know a bit. What do you want to know?"

"How the auction works," Gon said, eyes flitting between Killua and Aliara. "And the stuff that's going on in the streets."

"There's a couple ways to sell items," Aliara mused, trying to remember anything that she didn't sleep through in her early years. "There's exchanging, which is pretty straight forward. You barter with someone and trade items. Sometimes, you can include money and items in an exchange. Bidding, you all probably know about. At least, I hope." They all nodded, and she nodded back. "There's another one called... Binding, I think."

"What's binding?" the dark-haired boy asked, cocking his head.

"It's where the seller provides a condition to win an item," Aliara remembered. "Normally, people who are interested have to pay a fee. I actually participated in one this week," she recalled, smirking. "An arm wrestling contest. I won 1, 000, 000 jennis. The admission fee, if you could call it that, was 10, 000."

"What?!" Killua cried out, the first thing he'd said since she'd gotten there.

Aliara glared at him. "Is that so surprising, Ghost Boy?"

His face reddened. "Yeah, Sunshine, I didn't think you were that strong," he teased.

Her face lit up. "Why, you-"

While they were mindlessly bickering, Leorio was running through ideas in his head. "Arm wrestling," he mumbled, looking to Gon. "Binding." He looked over to Aliara, who was currently arguing with Killua about who knows what. Gon watched them argue with a laugh, shaking his head. How those two were still oblivious to each other's feelings, he had no clue.

"Alright!" Leorio cried, slamming a palm on the table, effectively shutting Aliara and Killua up. "I've got an idea! Aliara, how do you feel about dressing up?"

She returned his question with a blank stare. "Dress up," she repeated.

"Like, a dress and whatever," the doctor said, waving his hand.

Aliara blinked rapidly, then shook her head. "No way. No how."

"It'll help us make more money," Leorio urged. "Pervy old men like seeing pretty young girls in dresses!"

Her face flushed. "Huh?"

"Oi, old man," Killua argued, glancing from the black-haired girl to the doctor, "that's just plain creepy! What if she doesn't want-"

"Well... I'll do it," Aliara found herself saying before inwardly smacking herself.

"Eh?" Gon said.

"Huh?" Killua said at the same time.

Aliara shrugged. "I spent a bunch on my gloves, after all. The least I can do I help make some of that money back. If anyone tries anything, I'll just... Beat them up, I guess." She swallowed her nerves down. This was her way of dealing with the little bit of guilt she was feeling. "On one condition."

"Alright, what is it?" Leorio asked, rolling his eyes.

"I'm picking the dress," Aliara pointed out, remembering her bounty picture, "and it's not going to be blue."

* * *

The next day was so hectic that Aliara just wanted to curl up in bed and watch a movie for the rest of the day.

Gon sat at a wooden table in his tank top and shorts, with his elbow propped up on the table and a quizzical expression on his face. Leorio was doing a fantastic job advertising. Men were flocking from other stands to come and see what was up.

They had bought a 3 000 000 jenni ring. Whoever could beat Gon in arm wrestling (after paying the 10 000 jenni fee) would win the ring.

Aliara was holding the case with the ring, and wearing a ruby red dress. It was long, dusting the edge of the ground, so nobody could see the fact she was wearing her custom runners. The dress was like a ball gown- puffed out around the waist, ruffles. The top half of the dress was a bit lighter red, with long, silky straps that wrapped around her biceps and the upper parts of her shoulder, and secured in the middle of her chest with a gold brooch of sorts. Her scar was hidden.

She had pulled her long bangs out from her face and pinned them up behind her head, and left her hair down. Aliara had insisted on brown contacts- she was trying her best to avoid recognition. Her hair wasn't anything like the picture, after all- and that picture had been taken at least a year ago.

Men came and went from the table, all with the same fate.

"Sorry! You lose! Next!" Leorio would constantly shout.

Aliara fidgeted nervously, clutching the pad with the ring on it in her hands. She missed her gloves.

"Next!"

She looked up, and saw a bunch of leering men gazing at her. She coughed strangely and avoided their gaze.

What she was _really_ anticipating and gathering anxiety for was when Killua saw her. Leorio had sent the boy out to toss posters around and advertise for the event the best he could, hopefully attracting more potential customers.

"You lose! Next!"

But Killua had left to start his job before Aliara had gotten changed. Only Leorio had been there with her when she bought the dress (he was incredible at negotiating, and she got the dress for much cheaper than she would've) and so Killua hadn't seen it yet.

"Sorry, you lose. Next!"

Gon had seen her in the dress, when she came out of her room the first time. "You look great!" he had exclaimed, and some of her tension had just melted away. She kenw he genuinely meant everything he said, which made her happy.

"Sorry. Next!"

She shifted nervously. Gon was doing fine; she had no doubt. But where the hell was Killua? He'd been gone for a while. And wherever she looked, all she saw were men lined up to participate, and some looking at her.

"You lose, next!"

Where was he?!

* * *

Killua had finished his rounds, and started making his way towards where the stand was set up. When Ali returned to their hotel last night with her dress, she'd been pretty secretive about her dress, and incredibly flushed if he asked her about it. Was that a sign? Or whatever Gon called them?

He huffed and saw a huge crowd around where Leorio said they'd be set up. He beamed- he'd done a good job.

When he got close enough, almost to the front of the crowd, he finally saw Aliara. She looked absolutely amazing, he though. The red really suited her, and even though she was wearing contacts, her eyes still looked piercing and fierce.

And she was very posed, very stone-faced. He guessed that she had grown up learning to keep her expressions neutral. But Killua caught a few things- she shifted slightly, rolled her shoulder pack, and glanced side to side. She was nervous, even if her expressions argued otherwise.

Oh god, she looked really good. Killua gulped, and felt his cheeks heat up.

A group of men were standing in front of him, hiding him from Aliara's sight. One of them coughed, "I'm up next. Wish me luck."

"You won't need it!" Another guffawed. "It's just a little boy."

"But he's beaten over two hundred people now," a third pointed out. Killua snickered.

"Hey," the first said again, getting a dangerous look in his eye, "do you think we get to take the girl home with us if we win? Because I want her to-"

He never finished his sentence. Killua's fist slammed into the side of his head, and the guy crumpled without another word, sinking to his knees before falling to the ground. His two friends cried out, but Killua was already gone, cracking his knuckles. No one saw him do it- only the results of what he had done.

He moved forwards. Aliara finally saw him and smiled sheepishly, her cheeks a light shade of pink.

Killua grinned back, moving up to where she was standing. "How's it going?"

"Fine, I guess," she said with a shrug. "Gon's won everything so far, and he's doing really well. But I... Well, this is kinda uncomfortable." She laughed nervously.

He chuckled, "Yeah, but you're attracting a lot of attention. It's working well."

She looked surprised, glancing at Killua, who glanced back at her. Aliara inhaled, summoning as much courage as she could possibly muster, and asked, "Are you saying I'm attractive, Killua?"

Killua's mind raced at a million miles an hour, but he was smart- and smooth. He managed, "No, I'm saying you look _that_ weird."

"Rude!" She huffed, glaring at him and turning away. Killua noticed she was clutching the ring box tighter than usual, and her cheeks were oddly flushed.

Was that actually rude? Did she think he meant it? "N- No," he tried, "I mean, you look nice. Kinda. I mean, you look uncomfortable right now, but still nice- not like you don't most the time, but... Agh!" He puffed out his cheeks angrily. _This_ is what Gon meant when he said that this would take a while.

She was blushing just as hard as he was, a shade of red that rivaled her dress. They were both quiet, and Leorio's loud cry of "Sorry, you lose! Next!" echoed through the large area. People paid them no attention.

"Uh," Aliara stammered, "I... Thank you. If you're saying what I think you're saying."

"Well, what do you think I'm saying?" he asked, hiding his nerves.

He had the pleasure of watching his words reduce her to a blushing, stammering mess. "Well," She started, avoiding his eyes, "I- I don't want to assume anything, I mean... Uh... But I think you said that youthinkI'mpretty but if you didn't that's fine!" Aliara's face was incredibly red and she immediately look away.

Killua grinned devilishly. He was enjoying this. "Maybe."

"Maybe?!" Aliara cried out, glaring at him. "Just tell me if that's what you meant, you idiot!"

"Maybe," he replied, a cat-like smile on his face.

"Ghost boy," she threatened. He was mumbling and stammering a minute ago, but now that he wasn't the one on the embarrassment end? He was perfectly fine. "Is that what you meant?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, is it?"

"Killua!" She groaned, rolling her eyes and trying to fight down her smile.

"I gotta go!"

"No you don't, you asshole, get back here!"

"...Bye!"

Aliara huffed. Right before Killua vanished from sight, she called out, "Is that what you meant?"

He turned back to her and smiled. It was an adorable smile. His blue eyes seemed to sparkle and reflect the sun. He jammed his hands in his pockets and leaned back on his heels, smiling at her. "Yeah. Yeah it is," Killua said, before turning and taking off.

The black-haired girl blinked a few times before her usual poker face split into a wide smile. She squeezed the ring box tightly in her hand and bit her lip to prevent herself from squealing. _Killua thinks I'm pretty._

And somehow, knowing that was going to make the rest of the day more bearable.

* * *

 **RedBurningDragon:** That'd be cool, I admit... But I don't think so ;) Thanks for reviewing!

 **masoliki1:** Thank you so much! :)

 **BiscuitBrisket123:** Thank you! :D

 **havanatitiana:** Yes, definitely. Not necessarily in this chapter, but in the future, definitely. Thanks for reviewing! :)

 **Guest:** Awwwww you're going to make me cry, you're so sweet :') Thank you so much! Yes, I live for Killua and Aliara's hugs, they're just so adorable X) I've seen the first episode of Assassination Classroom, but nothing else. It's an anime that I'm seriously considering getting into. Normally, I watch the first episode of different animes, pick one that catches my interest, and binge watch it. XD Thanks so much for your review!

 **Reading1Dragon:** Aha thank you! More Killara, coming right up! :P Thanks for the review! :)

 **Night Owl:** YOU DON'T KNOW HOW BADLY I WANT TO REVEAL IT! Thank you for your review!

 **O:** THANK YOU! :D

 **I kid you all not, that bet thing is part of the manga. And Gon actually won! It was never really specified what Gon wanted Killua to do, so I took advantage of that. I hope you enjoyed!~**

 **By the way, this story has reached 17,000 views, and you don't understand how happy I am. Thank you guys so much!**


	28. Father

**Chapter 28: Father**

They closed up and finished the arm wrestling station at around 9 or 10. Aliara was relieved- her arms were cramping up from holding up the ring for so long. Gon had defeated every single person that came up against him, with what looked like ease. There was one lady who gave Gon a hard time, and he actually had to work for that victory. But otherwise, it was all fine.

And Killua had said she looked nice! Aliara had to press both her hands on her cheeks to keep from blushing up a storm. She'd been so nervous!... And her face felt like it was going to explode from heat. She wasn't used to being that nervous in front of other people. And the fact it was Killua was even worse...

Aliara handed Leorio the ring box and hiked up her dress so it didn't brush against the dirty ground as they made their way back to the hotel. Gon walked on her left side, with Killua on Gon's other side. "How was it, Ali?" Gon asked, looking to Aliara.

She shrugged, a smile creeping up on her face as she pulled her long hair up into her trusty hair elastic. "It was fine. I haven't dressed up in a while, so that was kind of fun." That was true. She hadn't put on a dress since her last day at her family mansion- not that she was complaining. "I guess my nerves kind of acted up, though," she admitted with a sheepish grin. "Every man who came up seemed to look at me weirdly. But I was probably just paranoid. Nobody really did anything."

Killua broke into a coughing fit that caused both Aliara and Gon to stare at him weirdly before returning to their conversation. "How about you, Gon?"

"Fine," he said with a shrug, spinning his arm in a circle in an effort to stretch it out. "It felt like I was cheating people, though."

"But we got a lot of money," Killua insisted, piping up. "I mean, we need a lot more. But this is a start."

Aliara nodded along. "I've been thinking, maybe I could sell my gloves or my shoes or something." The idea of it made her heart clench but she ignored it. "I'm sure those could get a lot of money-"

"No," they both said in unison.

She blinked, "eh?"

"You worked really hard on those," Killua pointed out. "Why would you sell them?"

"Besides," Gon added, "your shoes probably won't fit many other people." Aliara picked up the edge of her dress to glare at the red and black custom runners. "And Killua's right, you've worked really hard on those."

"O- Okay," she managed, looking down sheepishly. "It was just a thought."

They went back to the hotel in silence, Leorio talking into his phone most of the way back. Aliara shifted uncomfortably in the dress- as much as she liked it, she'd much rather be in jeans and a hoodie, or something like that.

Back at the hotel, Leorio put all their earnings on the table. "We've got the three million jenni ring," he started, "the remaining two-point-four million, and about three-point-five million from the arm wrestling." He looked up. "That's almost nine million."

"We're still pretty far," Aliara said, frowning.

"And I'm not sure this is totally honest," Gon admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

"Plus," Killua continued, "during the second round, Gon only beat people that were coming back for revenge."

"You're all so negative!" Leorio protested, throwing his hands up in the air.

Gon shook his head. "And the more that people talk about it, I'm not sure how many more people will show up." Aliara nodded along- he had a point.

The man in the suit grinned. "Don't worry. This has been planned since the very beginning. The more people talk about it, the better." He laced his fingers together, the smirk growing on his face. "The arm wrestling was the bait. To make moles come to the surface."

Aliara rolled her eyes. Whatever he was planning, it probably wasn't good.

* * *

The next day, they set up the booth again. This time, Leorio said that Killua could hold the ring. Satisfied with that, Aliara had left her hair in a high ponytail, and put on her teal tank top that had a hood and long black pants. She kept her gloves and her shoes on, and stood next to Killua at the back.

Nobody wanted to come up. The rumors were spreading, but Leorio had a fox-like grin on his face. Aliara and Killua exchanged a glance and a shrug.

"Let me try."

A _huge_ man came up, and sat down in front of Gon after handing Leorio his money. Gon visibly paled. The man's fist was bigger than Gon's head. "How are we going to hold fists?" the big man mused, glancing at the boy.

"Gon, switch with me. I'll replace you."

What was Leorio planning?

The big man frowned. "Hey, you. It won't work that way. That's an infraction of the rules."

"I know," Leorio replied with a shrug. He tossed some wads of cash in Aliara's direction, and she caught them with one gloved hand. "Five million, plus the diamond. If you beat me. If you win, these are all yours. So?"

The big man turned to another guy in the audience, who seemed to be his associate. The guy in the audience nodded, and the big man turned back, smug. "Ready?" Gon asked them. They gripped fists tightly, and Aliara saw the numerous veins in the challenger's arm pop out. He really was strong. "Go!"

Aliara wondered how strong Leorio really was.

The black-haired man in the suit slammed his opponent's hand to the table with enough force to crack the wood. The challenger was shocked. Leorio was smug. The crowd gasped collectively as the man slowly stood up, clutching his fist and hissing through his teeth.

"Who's next?" Leorio said quietly. "May I remind you the stakes have increased. Don't tell me we're stopping here," he added as no one came forward, instead looking at him in shock and a bit of fear.

Aliara rolled her eyes. What was this going to accomplish?

A tall, beefy man in a pretty suit came up. At first, the black-haired girl thought he was going to challenge Leorio, but instead he pulled out a business card. "Say, you're really strong," he started. "I like you."

Leorio smirked. "The three behind me are much stronger than I am."

Aliara frowned, turning around. Nope, just her, Killua, and Gon. She kept her expression neutral, but her heart did a little tap dance. _Leorio thought she was stronger than him._ She fought to keep the grin off her face.

The man in the pretty suit narrowed his eyes. "I see. If you have some time, stop by this address around 5 pm." He walked away, the crowd following him with their eyes.

Leorio grinned, waving the card at the trio. "I think we found the big fish."

Aliara grinned back. Leorio knew what he was doing, she'd give him that.

"Alright. Let's head back to the hotel," Leorio instructed, moving the cracked table to the side and accepting the money and ring from Aliara and Killua. They all nodded and followed Leorio as he pushed his way through the crowd that was quickly dispersing.

About a minute later, Aliara knew something was wrong. Someone was following them.

"You hear that?" she asked quietly, not even looking at the boys.

Killua nodded. "Yeah."

"Footsteps," Gon added, frowning.

They kept up their pace, resisting the temptation to turn around. They were being followed. Leorio was speaking into his phone again, oblivious to their problem. "Should I intercept him?" Killua mused. "It doesn't sound like he's trying to be quiet."

Aliara felt sweat prickling her forehead. What if it was someone after her bounty? She wasn't that recognizable, and she was still wearing the hazel contacts from yesterday. But she still had yet to tell Gon and Killua about the bounty.

"You guys," she started, her voice dry, "there's something I should tell you-"

Gon and Killua looked to her expectantly.

"Aliara!"

She stiffened. The voice had come from the footsteps that were following them. The trio turned, and Leorio did too, his phone shut off.

A man burst out of the crowd, slightly out of breath. He was wearing a slightly rumpled, light blue collared shirt that was neatly tucked into his black dress pants. His shoes were fancy and shiny. He had black hair that was slicked back, and he was evidently older- maybe late thirties or so. He was carrying a brown briefcase under his arm. When he noticed they stopped, he grinned at her- but the grin wasn't malicious or creepy or anything. It was kind.

"Aliara," he repeated. "I- I've finally found you." His brown eyes filled with relief and he stepped forwards. He seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Do you know him?" Killua whispered to her. It took her a moment before she slowly shook her head.

"I don't know you," she repeated. "You must've mistaken me for someone else. Sorry."

Aliara turned on her heel and started walking again.

"No, wait! I do know you. Oh lord, I do."

His voice sounded sincere, but she didn't trust him. Not one bit. But something in his voice made her freeze up. It sounded familiar; like she had met him somewhere. "How?" she asked quietly, Gon and Killua flanking her sides. She felt her nerves rise up and she squeaked out, "prove it."

The man sighed, and ran a hand through his slicked-back black hair. "You're as stubborn as your mother."

"How do you know who my mother is?" she demanded quietly. "And I wouldn't recommend that you say it out loud."

He closed the space between them by another few feet. They were only a few feet away now. But Aliara had Gon and Killua at her sides, and that was enough comfort on its own. "True," he agreed. His voice lowered. "Your last name is Lorvell. You were born on August 8th, and your eyes are actually green. I know you're wearing contacts."

Aliara's breath hitched in her throat. Killua tensed up at her side. "H... How-"

How was this possible? How did someone know so much about her?

And suddenly, she didn't _want_ to know the answer.

She didn't.

It was like a giant wave at a beach, rearing up a dozen feet high.

"I'm your father," the man insisted, and everything came crashing down all at once, like that wave that was going to suffocate her.

* * *

 **RedBurningDragon:** Good for Gon! Moving things along XD I'm very excited to reveal her Hatsu technique. Thank you for your review!

 **Akuma-Sama2002:** Of course I don't hate you for your criticism! I really do appreciate it! If I went a whole story without criticism, there would be something wrong :P Thank you for reviewing. Haha, after rereading the chapter myself, I do agree I went a little heavy on the blushing *~* You're definitely right about making it more meaningful, and I'll keep them in mind for the future. Yes, you're right in saying that Aliara is too young to be looked upon in that way. I actually got the idea from a different story and tried to use it here- maybe not my best move. Thank you for pointing that out for me.

I'm excited for Aliara to meet Alluka too- even if that is a ways off. I;m glad you liked that little about about Aliara giving Illumi a piece of her mind- she hasn't forgiven him for what he said to Killua, not by a long shot. :) Thank you so much for your long review! I very much appreciate it! :)

 **havanatitiana:** Aha, I'm so glad you enjoyed :D Thanks for the review! :)

 **Night Owl:** THANK YOUUU! Your reviews always make me smile! :) :) :D

 **Guest:** Aha yess! I'm so glad you loved Gon's assertiveness! (not sure what to call it XD) And I'm so glad you can picture the last part in your head, that makes me so happy when readers can do that *~* Thank you so much! Aha you're making me blush :) :) Concerning her name, that was probably the hardest part about starting the story! I had all the plot but no name! I needed something that sounded royal or fancy but could still have a nickname made out of it. I actually wanted a name that started with an 'A' for some reason, so I ended up searching online. I found that name, loved it, and voila! Aliara!

Thank you so much for your overly kind and sweet review! :) :)

 **xenocanaan:** Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed! :)

 **G:** THANK YOU THANK YOU! :D

 **Reading1Dragon:** I actually started reading Assassination Classroom- for some reason, I prefer manga over anime, I'm not sure why. I just finished the school trip and i absolutely LOVE Karma! Karma is so amazing, and Nagisa is so cute, but Koro-Sensei takes the cake, oh my goodness I love him. NO SPOILERS PLEASE!

Thank you so much for your review, and for prompting me to start a new manga! :D

 **Shorter chapter, I'm sorry :(**


	29. Tracker

**Chapter 29: Tracker  
**

 _Well, shit._

Killua, with Aliara, Gon, and Leorio, was seated in their usual spot- the small gathering of chairs around a large table in their hotel, where they normally met to count their money or make plans. Now, they all sat on one side- Aliara on the couch, next to Gon and Leorio, with Killua seated on the chair's arm rest, next to the black-haired girl. The man on the streets who claimed to be Aliara's father was seated across from them in one of the two chairs.

The tension in the room was heavy, but Killua couldn't imagine how Aliara could be feeling. She had her fists clenched in her lap, her finger hovering around the button to pop out and fire the laser built into her glove.

"My name is Francis," the man started, eyeing them all warily, "Francis Terakide."

He said his last name like _tear-a-kide,_ and it sent shivers up Killua's spine.

"How'd you find me?" Aliara managed, her skin pale.

Francis sighed. "The arm wrestling thing yesterday. A colleague of mine participated and told me about it, so I went to check it out today, only when it was closing down. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw you at the booth."

"That doesn't explain why you're here," she snapped, crossing her arms.

"For the auction," he said simply, his brown eyes widening slightly. "That's what my job is. I deal with people who want to put things in the auction. It's a great job, really, and you meet a bunch of interesting people." His fingers closed around the handle of his briefcase, almost subconsciously.

As much as he hated to admit it, Killua recognized the man's tone of voice. It was exactly like Aliara's was when she started talking about something like her gloves.

"That's how I met your mother," Francis added, and Aliara stiffened. "She was at the auction, trying to see if any of her old jewelry or heirlooms would go for a lot of money. I met her, and she invited me out for a date."

"I don't need to know the whole sad story," Aliara scowled, her fingers lacing together impatiently, "I just want solid proof that you're actually my father and what your business is in Yorknew."

"I already told you the second one," Francis said simply, smiling softly. "And as for the first one... Well, you're got the same blunt, no-nonsense attitude as your mother."

"Don't say that," she interrupted quietly, and Killua's eyes fell on her briefly. "Don't say I'm like my mother."

"You've got her eyes," he continued, raising his eyebrows. "Is it okay to say that?"

A silence fell on the five. Killua was afraid that Aliara was going to lash out, but instead she took a deep, long breath, eyes trained on the floor.

"You've got a younger brother," Francis said, and Aliara's eyes snapped up.

Killua remembered Aliara saying something like that. Her younger brother, who had the same father as her... Ano, was it?

"His name is Ano," Francis continued. _Okay,_ Killua thought, bemused. _Maybe this guy isn't all nonsense after all._

"This is a completely hypothetical thing," Aliara warned him, her skin still much paler than usual, "But let's go out on a limb here and say I believe you." Francis nodded along. "What happened between you and Mom?"

He seemed to ponder this for a second too long before he answered. "She claimed she didn't want a relationship. Only a fling sort of thing." Francis paused again and sighed. "But in late January, she called me and said that she was pregnant."

Aliara remained silent as he continued. "We met up. I wanted to have the child, but she insisted it was hers to keep. We fought about it, and we finally came to a conclusion. If it was a boy, she was take the child, and if it was a girl, I could have it."

Killua knit his eyebrows. Aliara breathed, "but..."

"Exactly," Francis said with a long exhale. "It was a girl, but she kept the child anyways. I was beyond angry. I insisted that she give me the child, and that I could take her to court. But that was when I found out she had more money than she knew what to do with, and it was all pointless.

"But I had a good influence on the auction," he continued, swiping a hand through his hair, "and I knew I could mess up her chances at making money through it. She knew it, too. So she promised me another child- and this one, I could have, no matter what."

"Ano," Aliara guessed, and he nodded.

"And we know what happened to that," Francis said heavily. "I lost all contact with your mother after that. But I never thought I'd meet my child again."

Killua felt the tension just... _melt_ from Aliara. She believed him.

"Just for clarification," she asked, "when's Ano's birthday?"

"September 23rd," he replied, smiling.

Aliara smiled, and Killua could see that she was genuinely happy. "Okay. I believe you."

"Thank god," he breathed, leaning back in his seat, his smile evident on his face. "I just..." He shook his head. "I can't believe I get to see you again. I never thought I'd recognize you... But between my hair and your mother's eyes, and the..." he coughed.

Aliara's face fell. Killua frowned. "The what?" Aliara hissed.

"Nothing," he said softly.

"You're lying," she snapped. "If you'd like to keep my trust, I suggest you tell me what it is."

"Ali," Gon said quietly, turning to her, "are you okay?"

She didn't answer.

"Aliara," Killua mused quietly, "is this involved with what you were trying to tell us earlier?"

The black-haired girl stiffened, and Killua got his answer. "Yes," she said quietly.

"Oi, I'm lost," Leorio snapped.

"Of course you are," Killua grumbled.

"What's that supposed to mean, you?!-"

"The bounty poster," Aliara's father said with a sigh. "I saw the bounty poster and I was able to recognize your face."

Aliara inhaled sharply, leaning back in her seat.

"Bounty poster?!" Leorio, Killua, and Gon all cried out simultaneously.

"When did this happen?" Gon cried out.

"You idiot! Why didn't you tell us?!" Killua raged at the same time.

"How much are you worth?" Leorio chimed in along with the boys.

Aliara's expression was going darker and darker, and it looked like she was struggling to keep her temper. Killua frowned at her- she definitely should've told them. He'd suspected something, but not like this. "It's a bounty on my head," she said miserably, sinking lower. "I wanted to tell you guys, but I... I just never had the right time, and... And I didn't want to worry you guys."

"Worry?" Gon exclaimed. "But-"

"And for Leorio," she continued, interrupting Gon but shooting him an apologetic look after, "It was fifty million for information and ten billion for my capture."

"WHAT?!"

Francis nodded slowly. "I saw that. There wasn't any name, and the picture was a bit formal."

"Have you seen a lot?" Aliara asked.

He shook his head. "Just a few, mostly in bars, pubs, or fancy restaurants and hotels. But I suspect that the publicity is growing."

"Great. Just great," she growled. She turned to face the boys. "I don't blame you if you want to turn me in for the money. I-"

Killua whacked her on the head playfully from his perch on the arm of the chair. "Idiot. Haven't you been with us long enough to know that we wouldn't do that?" Aliara's expression softened, but she wouldn't look Killua in the eye.

Gon nodded eagerly. "Yeah, Ali. You're our best friend!"

It may have been Killua's imagination, but there was a brief glint in Francis's eye that he didn't like. But as swiftly as it came, it was gone, and he found himself uneasy. There was something wrong with Aliara's dad. His intuition was never wrong.

"Look, it's almost five," Leorio started. "As nice as it was to, uh, _meet_ you, Mister Treehide-"

"Terakide," he said with a smirk.

"Same difference," the suited man dismissed. "But we have to get going. It's almost five, and we have to meet somewhere."

Francis frowned, "all of you? I was hoping that Aliara and I could go out and get something to eat and catch up. I want to hear about what kind of adventures she's been on. I haven't seen her in thirteen years."

Everything about that screamed danger. Killua just wanted to jump up and wave red flags _everywhere_.

To his surprise, Aliara smiled. "Yeah, that'd be nice."

"Eh? Aliara, how do you know you can trust him?" Killua snapped, not even bothering to apologize for rudeness. Gon was just watching the both of them with flickering interest. Leorio rolled his eyes.

"He's my father," she said simply, looking Killua in the eye for the first time since the conversation started. She'd taken out the hazel contacts, and her green eyes were fierce and piercing. In an instant, he was reminded of the cold gaze of Adrianna Lorvell- her mother. Those eyes were one and the same. "He's proven that. And... I want to get to know him a bit."

"But Ali-"

"No buts," Aliara said firmly, turning to her father. "I'd love to go out for dinner with you. I don't have to dress formally, do I?"

He shook his head, smiling. "Not overly, no. We'll go to a pub out near my work building, called Wixan Hill. If you've got the same appetite I do, you'll love the wings." His brown eyes seemed to sparkle.

Killua narrowed his eyebrows- this all felt wrong, wrong, wrong.

But Aliara's eyes lit up. "I've got a huge appetite," she said excitedly, her fists clenching together in anticipation. "Can I go get changed and meet you in the lobby?" Francis nodded eagerly, already standing up. He nodded respectfully to the boys before he left, and Aliara turned to go back to her room.

As soon as he was gone, Aliara turned again, facing Killua and Gon, who looked ready to protest. Leorio was on his pone.

"I don't think-" Gon started.

"I know," she said quickly, immediately turning towards their room and starting to walk. Killua and Gon followed her. "I know it isn't a good idea, but I can't help it. I can take care of myself."

Killua grimaced, "he's up to something. I saw the look in his eyes." Gon nodded, and the white-haired boy felt relieved that Gon was on his side.

Aliara sighed. "I know."

"Maybe he's after the bounty," Gon suggested worriedly.

Killua nodded, "and while we're on that topic, why didn't you tell us about that? You-"

"Guys!" Aliara cried suddenly, slowing to a stop in front of her room and pressing her hands to the sides of her head. They both clamped their mouths shut. "Okay. Good. Look, I know it's not smart. Maybe it's a trap. If it is, I won't hesitate to hurt him. But..." her lip trembled, and Killua cursed himself for noticing. "This may be my only chance to have a family again. To learn something about my dad. To... you know."

The pair stayed silent as Aliara sighed softly, "Wait here." She ducked into her room, and a few seconds later, appeared with her hands cupped around something. "I've whipped up a little something that I think we could use."

She opened her hands, and they both looked down at a pair of earrings and flip phone.

They both looked back up quizzically.

Aliara smirked, and Killua saw the gears turning in her head as she prepared an explanation. "I made these while you two were on your little bet. The earrings look like simple silver studs, but I styled them with a tracking device."

"What?" Gon gasped, looking down at the earrings in awe.

"How'd you manage that?" Killua asked in surprise.

She smiled, obviously proud of herself. "It took a while. But this phone-" she flipped it open, revealing a map of Yorknew; specifically, with their hotel at the center- "has a map of the city. That red dot," she pointed at a red blip in the middle of the screen, on the hotel, "is the earrings. The tracker."

"So we'll know where you are," Gon said with a grin. "Ali, that's fantastic!"

Aliara grinned, tucking her bangs behind her ear- which Killua found adorable ( _No. Bad Killua._ )- and held out the phone to Killua. "The screen moves with the tracker, so the red dot is always in the center. Click this button-" she gestured to a small green button- "and the screen will freeze on the area the dot is in. The tracker will keep moving, but the screen will stay in the same area. To undo it, click this one." Aliara jabbed at a darker green button. "This'll zoom the screen right back to where the dot is."

Killua and Gon both tried to listen and she talked about the settings she'd made. "This zooms in and out, and can only go so far. Press this one, and a normal home screen pops up, so it easily passes as a phone. Hit it again, it goes back to the map, the exact way you left it."

"Alright," Killua said, gingerly accepting the phone. "But how'd you do this? I thought you were more into mechanics than electronics."

"I am," she assured him, eyes glinting. "It was a device until I bought a phone. I took out all the stuff and put my stuff back in." Suddenly, Killua could've sworn Aliara had devilish horns and a tail. "I borrowed Leorio's Hunter's License to get access to maps that I installed in the phone."

"Hey!" came a protest from across the room. "When did you-"

"And I got some guy in town to finish it," Aliara concluded breathlessly. "He has no clue what it really is, don't worry."

"Wow," Killua and Gon said in unison, looking from the phone to each other.

Aliara grinned. "Give me a minute." She twisted, and vanished into her room.

Killua flipped open the phone and zoomed in on the screen. Sure enough, when he zoomed in really close, he could see the blip snaking around the room. He shook his head. "She's incredible," he said aloud.

"You should tell her that," Gon hummed happily.

Killua took a second to realize what Gon was implying before he flushed angrily. "Moron! Not right now!"

The seemingly innocent, dark-haired boy snickered. "Whatever you say, Killua," he said, his voice dangerously near a taunt.

"Why, you-"

"I'm good to go," Aliara said quickly, changing in record time. She had changed into her burgundy, scoop-neck t-shirt that she had worn before, black jeans, and her shoes. Her hair was pulled up, and the boys could both see the glitter of the earrings. Killua swallowed nervously- and it wasn't because of the task ahead.

Gon smiled. "Good luck, Ali!"

"I'll be fine," she assured them both, smiling. "It's just dinner. Even if it is something weird, I'll be fine." Aliara flexed her fingers, checking out her gloves. "I have these!"

Yet as they walked down the hall, down the elevator, and down to the front door, where Francis had called a taxi and was waiting for her, smiling innocently, Killua couldn't help but feel that something was horribly, horribly wrong.

* * *

Killua just couldn't concentrate.

They had shown up to the location- Gon, Leorio, and himself- and signed up to be a part of a large group of people that were hunting down some wanted people. There were six on the poster- with a reward of two billion each. Killua swallowed down the lump in his throat as he glared at the six faces.

"She's probably fine," he heard Gon mutter, and he turned- but Gon was just muttering to himself. Or was he? Gon shook his head, ignoring Killua's staring.

Gon was right. Aliara was probably fine. She was with her father, after all.

Where was it that they were going?

He flipped open the phone. The tracker was moving smoothly down public roads.

"Wixan Hill," he mused, remembering the name of the restaurant that Francis had casually tossed in the air.

The map didn't have millions of labels, but when he tapped the screen, a little name popped up. Like when he zoomed out and tapped the city, 'Yorknew City' popped onto the screen in red font. But he couldn't spend all night tapping everything in the city.

"Oi, Old Man," he called to Leorio, who stiffened, "where's Wixan Hill?"

"I'm not old," Leorio scowled, "and I don't know."

Killua frowned as they were swept along with the crowd, out the doors. He saw a security guard at the side. "Excuse me?"

"What do you want?" the man replied gruffly.

He flashed his large blue eyes, easily rolling with the 'innocent kid' role. "My friends and I want to go out to eat somewhere, like a pub or something. A guy recommended Wixan Hill. Do you know where that is?"

The guard scowled. "Leave me alone from your games, kid. There ain't no Wixan Hill in Yorknew."

Killua's eyebrows shot up, "are you sure?"

"Listen, kid, I know this city like I know the back of my hand. You can check a map if you really want, there's no Wixan Hill around here. I've lived here since I was born and I've never heard of it."

He tore away without saying another word.

He flipped open the phone, Gon peering over his shoulder.

The blip was no long on any public roads.

They were heading out of town.

"She's in danger," Killua hissed under his breath. He raised his voice as Leorio and Gon both studied him with odd expressions. "It's a trap. Ali's in danger. We need to leave."

Gon nodded. "Okay. We can save the crook catching for later."

"We need to leave now!" Killua called out to Leorio, who instantly called for a taxi.

 _What the hell have we gotten into?_

* * *

 **Night Owl:** Thank you! Yeah, I was trying to pick what family member should show up next and how... And somehow, it drifted to her father. Thanks for your review! :)

 **xenocanaan:** Thank you! Thanks for the review! :D

 **Giggling Devil:** How about both? Thanks for the review ;)

 **havanatitiana:** Just a bit XD Thanks for the review! :)

 **RedBurningDragon:** Yeah, no kidding. Thanks for the review! :)

 **Guest:** Your review basically describes my reaction when I reread the chapter XD It was a bit of 'should I really try to do this?' but I went with it- I want to focus on Ali's past a bit more rather than sticking completely to the arcs. This was a good way to fit it in :) It's a good thing you don't trust him quite yet... Neither do Killua or Gon ;) Yeah, I finished Assassination Classroom and loved it to pieces, and I'm already working out a fanfic in my head- involving an OC, of course. I just started getting an image of a perfect student... XD Anyways, thanks for the review! :D

 **Readinga1Dragon:** Aha... I finished it XD It was just so good! I fell in love with Karma and I've already got an OC I want to write a fanfic about. It just depends on my schedule... :/ Thank you for your review! :D

 **G:** Thank you! :D

 **sytamika/Sytamika:** Assuming you're the same person... Anyways yes, I'd like to fit in another interaction with her mother. The details aren't sharp quite yet, but I'm trying to plan something. I'm not sure how to do it quite yet. Thanks for your reviews! :D

 **Kaito1412:** (Assuming both the reviews were from you) You guessed it... More action next chapter, I promise. Thanks for the review! :)

 **Oooo, long chapter. Go me. Fight scene next chapter!**

 **AND THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR OVER 200 REVIEWS AND JUST UNDER 150 FOLLOWERS I LOVE YOU GUYS**


	30. Trap

**Chapter 30: Trap  
**

The taxi was comfy.

Her dad was friendly.

The drive was easy.

But something just felt so, so wrong.

Aliara fidgeted anxiously in her seat, hands clenched. She was still wearing her gloves and shoes (plus the wristwatch that went with it), and the earrings, of course. Her father was humming happily and texting people on his phone. Aliara felt a tad bit suspicious- there were so many things that felt so wrong in this situation. But this was probably her only chance to get something close to a family that she actually would want and respect. She couldn't pass it up.

 _I have to be on guard._ Her green eyes studied the driver carefully. He had big, hairy hands and a mop of grey-black hair tucked under a toque. He was wearing a collared black shirt with a grey jacket over top, with matching slacks. Kind of an odd combination to be seen- suit, and a toque.

"How much further is it?" she asked timidly, trying her best not to let her caution show in her voice.

"About another five minutes, missy," the driver chuckled, turning off the main road and onto a smaller, dustier road.

Francis- her dad- clicked his tongue. "Someone I work with fell ill. With the auction so close, that's not what we need right now." He tapped a series of letters into the phone.

Aliara's brain lit up. "Francis- er, Dad- do you know of the game Greed Island?"

"Of course," he said without looking up from his phone.

"We're interested in buying it," she continued eagerly, turning towards him. "How much do you think it'll go for?"

He chuckled. "More than you could afford, sweetheart." Aliara flinched- she realized she did not like being called sweetheart. "It's not going to be seven billion, the starting price, that's for sure. I wouldn't be surprised if it made over thirty billion."

"Thirty?" she said, frowning. "But aren't there a few copies?"

Francis shrugged, finally looking up from his phone. "Yes, but I have no doubt they'll sell for anything less. You might've been able to convince your mother to lend you money if you hadn't run away." He chuckled, grinning at her. "I'm sure you'll find a way."

Aliara nodded firmly, lacing her fingers together. She looked out the window- the road was completely empty of buildings and structures, mostly trees and bushes.

Then something clicked.

 _She'd never mentioned that she ran away._

Suddenly, her father looked so much more evil. The taxi driver and her father made eye contact swiftly, but it felt like something passed between them.

Aliara wanted to freeze time and scream "time out!" but she knew she needed to pretend that nothing was wrong. Her head buzzed; all her nerves were on full alert. She tried to gather herself. _Your father doesn't know what you can do._

The area didn't look familiar. Not at all.

"This doesn't look like the city," she remarked, calming herself. "I thought you said the pub was near where you worked." They passed the only building that Aliara had seen during the entire trip since they pulled off the main road- a broken down house. Joy.

"Did I say that?" Francis mused, glancing up from his phone. "I didn't think so."

 _Yes, he did._ "Hey, Francis?"

"Dad," he corrected, smiling softly at her. "What is it?"

She glared at him, and her eyes seemed to stare daggers right into his soul. "I don't believe you," Aliara snapped coldly. "You're as bad as my mother."

Francis's eyes widened in surprise only to harden, but it was too late. He called out, "Driver! Stop!" and Aliara felt for the door handle, only to find it locked. In that instant, she raised her hand at the driver and fired her laser.

The beam pierced the back of his hand and the driver cried out, letting go of the wheel. The car swerved, and Aliara ended up flying towards Francis. Thinking fast, Aliara pressed a button on her shoes, and the layer of spikes popped out. The metal spikes pierced Francis's left shoulder as she went through the glass, shattering it, and the black-haired girl tumbled out, rolling. She heard Francis curse behind her.

Aliara coughed, shaking bits of glass from her hair, and bolted back in the direction of civilization, the spikes now retracted. Francis was screaming into his phone, words that Aliara couldn't hear and no longer cared about. Apparently, the driver was in league with her father, because she looked over her shoulder and saw him pulling out a gun. Roller skates flashed to her mind, but along the dirt road, she'd only ruin them and they wouldn't work.

There was a bang of a gun and Aliara threw herself forwards, tucking into a roll and popping up perfectly back to her feet without losing momentum. She couldn't have done the move better if she'd tried- the bullet had sailed harmlessly over her head.

Another bullet; Aliara jumped, but the bullet hit the ground behind her ten feet away. The laser she had hit his hand with had messed up his shot.

"Don't shoot her! We need her alive!" she heard Francis yell, and her heart wrenched; Killua had been right. He was only after her bounty. She never doubted that he was her father, though. He knew too much not to be.

Her luck had, unfortunately, run out. As she plowed over the next hill, three more men were heading her way. When they spotted her, they pulled out guns. It looked like they'd just hopped out of their car, which was parked ten feet behind them.

This was bad. The driver and her father behind her, and three in front of her. What was sideways?

The rickety, old, abandoned building. She'd have to try.

The trio fired; the guns bullets were different this time. Aliara ducked down and dove to the side, and the bullets flew past her and at the people behind her. She heard the driver yelp- he was stunned. They were stun guns.

"Catch her!" a gruff voice bellowed, and Aliara tore off to the house, her heart seizing in her chest. _Please, please, please say Killua cares enough to check on me and realizes I'm not where I should be._ She hit the driveway- it was paved!- and immediately switched to her skates.

Bullets whizzed by her, but she was gaining distance now. She started zigzagging back and forth, becoming a harder target for the shooters. She neared the house- it was big (Victorian, maybe?) and had three floors, with plenty of windows.

Aliara skated as close as she dared before she jumped. Nothing big, just a small hop- but in that opening she switched to her springs. Bunching her muscles, Aliara landed and sprung upwards at one of the windows on the third floor. Her jumping ability combined with the springs allowed her to reach the window with a bit of difficulty, but she made it, nevertheless.

There was a crash as she blew through the glass, rolling to a stop and standing up shakily, switching her shoes back to normal. Her brain seemed to be on autopilot- she dusted herself off, hid herself from the window, and checked herself for injuries.

Cries outside. "In the house! Go, we can't lose her!"

She had a long, bloody line down her left arm from the glass. Little bits of it were embedded in her palms. Other than that, Aliara was fine. _Alright,_ she breathed, calming herself in the few precious seconds she had. _I'll wait for them all to come inside, then I'll hop back out the window._

Aliara heard doors opening and shutting. Her heart hammered in her chest.

Heavy footsteps.

She turned back to the window, ready to climb out-

There was a bang and she immediately ducked away from the window. She cursed. The driver was there, ready to shoot her. The stun bullet had slowed him down, but now he was just playing sniper.

Aliara heard more yelling. She jumped into the hallway, not wanting to be trapped in a room.

Unfortunately, there was someone out there already. His mouth widened in shock, "hey!-"

Autopilot turned back on, and she slashed at his throat. Blood gushed from the wound and he collapsed, dead. Aliara exhaled slowly. That was one down. "She's upstairs!" she heard Francis yell, and then heavy footsteps were coming from the stair case a few feet away. She surveyed her surroundings in a blink- she was in a hallway. The stairs were in front of her and to the left. There were three rooms on the right, one on the left, and one at the back.

She looked up. The ceiling was pretty high...

It was way too late to think of a plan. She heard them coming up the stairs.

 _What would Killua do?_

He would hide until he had a proper plan to take everyone out.

 _What would Gon do?_

Be reckless, probably, and face them head on.

 _Interesting,_ she thought. _I guess I'll have to do a bit of both._

She leaped at the roof, turning on the sticky pads on her gloves and successfully stuck to the ceiling. She pulled her feet up, turned on the button for the iron picks that stuck out the front of her shoes, and dug them into the soft ceiling.

It was working. She stuck.

And just in time, too. Francis, along with two other men, were running up the stairs that she was posed above. They didn't even notice her. Her father lead the way, slowing from a run to a steady walk, creeping along as soon as he saw the dead body on the floor. The two men followed.

As soon as the last one made it up the stairs, Aliara made her plan on the fly. She hit her wristband with her nose, because her hands were occupied, and the metal rods that had hooked her into the ceiling retracted. Unfortunately, it wasn't silent, and all three men turned around as she swung down and twisted, wrapping her legs around the one man's neck from behind.

To someone else, it may have looked like an innocent girl, hoisted up on a man's shoulders, like some younger children did with their parents. But said girl had spiky shoes, weird gloves, and was nowhere near innocent. She tightened her legs around his neck and twisted sharply.

There was a crack and the man fell limp as she released. _Two down._ As Francis and the other guy charged at her, screaming, "What the?!", she turned the sticky pads off on her hands with the curl of a finger, untwisted herself, and dropped down the stairs, breaking into a run.

The second floor which she landed on was very open, with a few round pillars holding up the ceiling above. Maybe it was a dance room or something. Either way, her pursuers were hot on her heels. Her hands grabbed onto one of the pillars, and using her momentum, she swung herself around, foot out.

The first man saw what she was doing and ducked. The second man (who was fortunately Francis) didn't move in time, and her momentum carried her shoe into Francis's nose.

"OW!" he howled, his hands flying up to his nose. Blood seeped between his fingers.

"I wish I could say I was sorry!" Aliara called back as the other man grabbed for her, gun having fallen to the floor. Aliara sidestepped and slashed her hand across his chest. He collapsed, coughing and cursing. But he didn't get up again.

Francis pulling out the gun and Aliara swung her foot up and kicked it out of his hands. He gritted his teeth and lunged at her, but Aliara ducked. Unfortunately, the house wasn't very well-kept or stable, and she ended up stumbling over a loose floorboard. Aliara tumbled backwards into an empty room. Francis charged after her.

Aliara backed herself up to the wall. There was one window- but one glance told her that the driver had located the scuffle and had prepared himself outside the window, ready to shoot if necessary.

She turned back to her father, who pulled out a knife.

"Interesting," he said, wiping blood off of his lips. "You're much more skilled than I expected you to be."

"You're here for the bounty," Aliara said quietly, sinking into a ready stance. "Aren't you?"

He laughed- and it was no longer a happy, friendly laugh. Instead it was evil and full of greed. "I did think you'd be smarter, though. You trusted me." He didn't answer her question directly, but Aliara knew it was true.

"I just wanted a family again," she snarled, but her voice betrayed her and cracked halfway through her sentence.

Francis cackled, twirling the knife between his fingers. "Aww, poor little baby, with no family. How will you ever survive?"

"Shut _up!_ " Aliara shrieked, pressing her back to the wall. "You don't know anything!"

"Oh, yes I do," he breathed, taking another step closer. "As soon as I saw that bounty I couldn't believe it. Why were you on a bounty poster? What had you done? I contacted your mother, who was not the least bit happy to hear from me. But she told me you ran away. I knew I had to track you down." He clicked his tongue, "ten billion is a lot of money."

"She doesn't care," the black-haired girl snapped, her bangs whipping in front of her face. Her hair was dyed red with blood. "Not at all. She just wants her perfect reputation and perfect children to marry off into other rich families to get more money. I was just a pawn."

"Just a pawn," he repeated, taking another step. "Now, I'm going to send you back. And you'll go back to being a worthless pawn."

Aliara flinched, "what makes you think she'll actually give you the money?"

"Because I have you," Francis pointed out, gesturing at her cruelly with the knife. "And I can threaten to kill you."

"She won't care," she insisted feebly. Now, she was just stalling for time. Time was something that Francis believed he had a lot of, and something that she needed to stretch, in the desperate hope that Killua and Gon were coming after her. "She won't care at all. She hates me, and the feeling's mutual."

Aliara felt a tinge of satisfaction at the nervousness that crawled onto Francis's face. "You're lying," he insisted, waving the knife.

"I'm not," she replied calmly.

Then she whipped up her hand and fired.

Her aim was wild. Even in the small room, it was dark, and the evening light provided no assistance. She missed, and the laser burned a hole through the wall. Francis lunged for her, and she frantically dove to the right. The knife in his hand skimmed her left shoulder, but it felt like something had exploded. Aliara hissed through her teeth and turned around, going for the door.

Francis lunged again, but at the door. He was fast. He got there first, then rounded on Aliara, swinging the knife. She jumped back, and started gathering her advantages and disadvantages in her head.

 _Pros: He wants to prevent me from leaving, so he's constantly going to guard the door; I have a laser that works with distance._

 _Cons: There's someone at the window, ready to shoot me; he's got a knife; I'm injured._

Nope, not a great list.

She'd have to fight him.

She fired again, aiming more carefully, but she hit his hip. Francis cursed loudly, staggering, and Aliara lunged for the knife. She successfully grabbed his wrist and twisted, and they both ended up tumbling down together, wrestling for the knife.

To Aliara's surprise, Francis was strong.

 _Pros: He doesn't want to kill me, just injure._

 _Cons: He's strong. Stronger than I am._

Then he had her pinned to the ground. Aliara gritted her teeth and pushed with all her might- Francis was hovering above her, pushing the knife that was in between them down. Aliara pushed back. The knife was aimed at her chest.

"I've got you now," he murmured evilly, his grip tightening.

Weakly, Aliara reached with her right thumb to hit her wristwatch. She didn't see what button she hit, but she prayed to any god that she could remember and swung her foot up, into his gut.

The gods must've been looking down on her, because it was the spikes. The silver spikes hit Francis in the stomach, and his strength diminished quickly, and Aliara flipped him over. Now her father had his back to the ground and Aliara was pushing the knife down at him.

She pulled her foot off Francis's stomach, the spikes colored blood red. "You're not my father," she snarled, her voice cracking as she shoved the knife downwards. "You're not my family."

The knife pushed all the way into Francis's chest, buried up to the hilt.

He gasped, coughing up blood, and Aliara stumbled away, collapsing on the other side of the room. He coughed violently again, and blood spurted everywhere. She was used to blood, but this was just unnerving. Francis coughed once more, and then fell still, his hazel eyes staring up at nothing.

He was gone.

She had just killed her father.

She had just _killed_ her father.

The weight of that seemed to bear down on her, all at once, and Aliara started to cry. She didn't even notice the tears until they hit her hands, which were folded clumsily over her lap. She leaned back against the wall, looking down at the tears that were red with blood.

What had she done?

* * *

And that was how Killua found her. Covered head to toe in blood, crying, leaning up against the wall away from the window.

"Ali!" he cried out, hopping down from the window. Gon and Leorio were dealing with the shooter outside, and they'd be right behind him, no doubt. He stepped over a body that was so covered in blood he almost didn't recognize it. It was Francis. Killua froze, staring from Aliara to Francis.

"Kil..." he looked over, and Aliara was staring at him with her green eyes, her gaze no longer bright and piercing. She looked more dead than alive.

He did the only thing he thought he could do. Asking "are you okay?" seemed pointless, because the answer was quite obvious. Killua knelt down next to her, thanking the gods that she was alive, and wrapped his arms around her. He kept his grip loose, just in case she was injured, but Aliara immediately hugged back, sobbing.

"I killed him," she sobbed, burying her head in his shoulder. "The only family I had. I killed him."

He didn't know what to say. He squeezed her tighter, blinking furiously.

"I'm sorry," Aliara said quietly, her voice low, tears still leaking down her cheeks. "I just wanted a family again. This is all my fault."

Killua exhaled slowly, pulling back from the black-haired assassin. His front was entirely covered in blood that he hoped wasn't hers. "It's not your fault," he managed, staring her right in the eye. "And... we're your family now. Aren't we?"

He didn't think he'd said the right thing because a fresh wave of tears appeared, but she lunged at him in a hug again, which he eagerly returned. "Thank you," he heard her say, her voice heavy. "Killua."

And they were frozen for a minute, holding onto each other, the only comfort they had being the other's warmth.

* * *

 **MayaHikari:** Prevention is definitely better. Too bad Aliara was so focused about finding her father that she ignored that. :P Thanks for your review! :)

 **itzamarmeza:** I absolutely ADORE Gon. I love him now too, with his 'gentle' encouragement to Killua XD Thanks for your review! :)

 **JennyJey:** Aha thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying this so far! :D

 **Night Owl:** Aha, thanks! Yes, the more I write about her, the more the hatred builds up, eh? XD Poor Killua indeed :P Thanks for your review! :D

 **havanatitiana:** Yup, Killua is going to lose his mind. We all know how protective he can be XD I just made up a last name on the spot, actually. It's nothing recognizable or anything. Thanks for your review! :D

 **Reading1Dragon:** Aha thanks! Thank you for your review!

 **Guest:** Yep, I was rereading and I could definitely see a bit of Karma in Aliara XD I WAS INSPIRED AND I LOVE THAT SADISTIC CHILD SO MUCH! I did cry when I finished it, it was so sad. I feel so bad for the class. Plot twists? Who, me? Aha, thank you for your long review! :D

 **G:** Aw, thank you! :)

 **Woooooo that was fun/traumatizing ! :)**


	31. Blame

**Chapter 31: Blame**

It was easy to get Aliara out of the house and into the taxi that was waiting for them outside. The driver looked stricken, completely flabbergasted, but Leorio promised a lot of money if he could get them back to the hotel as fast as he could.

Aliara had passed out. Killua hadn't really noticed until he pulled back from the hug. His own front was covered in splotches of blood now. He checked her over quickly. There was a long red line of blood down her bicep and little red pricks of blood on her forearms from the glass. It didn't seem like she was bleeding anywhere else, so he hoisted her up on his back, ignored the dead body, and hopped out the window.

Gon immediately helped bring Aliara to the taxi, not even bothering to ask questions, which Killua was thankful for. Leorio was ballistic.

They got back to the hotel and brought Aliara up to the room that Gon and Killua shared. They each had their own room inside the hotel room with a bed and dresser, and Killua's happened to be closer, so they ducked in Killua's room and set her down.

"I can do this," Leorio seemed to be repeating to himself, yanking open his suitcase. "I can do this, I can do this..."

They looked her over. It wasn't as bad as Killua had thought it would be.

"Her breathing is regular," Gon pointed out, rubbing Aliara's uninjured arm. Killua sat on the other side of Aliara, and he subconsciously grabbed her hand and started taking off her glove, carefully. Gon did the same for her other hand.

Leorio nodded, frowning. "Yeah. There's nothing fatal or long-lasting. The worst seems to be the arm and the shoulder." He pushed back the short sleeve that was the closest to Killua and the white-haired boy swallowed hard as he saw a pulsing slash mark, perpendicular to the long scar that he had made so long ago on her shoulder. "She won't even need stitches. I just need to clean these and wrap them up."

"Is there anything we can do, Leorio?" Gon asked timidly, glancing down at Aliara's face.

The doctor shrugged, "you can get a cloth and start cleaning up the blood from her face and arms. I don't want to change her clothes, obviously, so we can wait until she wakes up for that." Gon nodded and left, eventually returning with a bucket of water and a few cloths. Killua accepted one from him as Leorio slid closer to him, ready to wrap up her injured arm. Killua scooted over, closer to her face. He helped wipe the blood off Aliara's arm and Leorio wrapped it; he started on her shoulder afterwards.

Then he grabbed a new cloth and moved to her face, gulping hard. He swept her long bangs out of her eyes and slowly rubbed the cloth across her forehead.

He shouldn't have let her go like that.

He should've tried harder to make her stay. He _knew_ it was dangerous; so why didn't he try harder to stop her?

He felt absolutely miserable.

Leorio finished his job quickly, breathed a sigh of relief, and left, muttering something about a bathroom. Gon glared at the sulky white-haired boy from across the bed. The dark-haired boy was seating on the other side, scrubbing the blood off of Aliara's uninjured arm. "It's not your fault, Killua."

He looked up slowly, then looked back down.

"She wanted to go," Gon insisted, smiling softly, "and do you think we really could've stopped her?"

Killua snorted- Gon had a fair point. When Aliara put her mind to something, there was little anyone could do about it. She was quite stubborn when she wanted to be.

"Trust me, I'm blaming myself too," Gon admitted sheepishly, making Killua look up in something like surprise. "But she would've regretted not going, don't you think? She had to find out for herself."

This was true, Killua realized. He glanced at Gon in surprise. He'd never expected the 'innocent' boy to be this observant or good at reading people.

She didn't stir as they finished wiping most of the blood off her face. Gon took the materials away, told Killua he was going to go to bed, and left. Killua gazed thoughtfully at Ali- she seemed peaceful, still having yet to wake up.

Before he could change his mind, he lay down next to her and went to sleep.

* * *

When Aliara woke up, the first thing she noticed was that she had a killer headache.

The second was that she was no longer wearing her gloves.

The _third_ was that _Killua_ was laying in bed _right next to her._

 _This wasn't her room._

Aliara bolted straight upright, cursing inwardly from the flare of pain up her left shoulder and arm. Immediately, Killua was up; his assassination practice had him accustomed to wake up in a heart beat for the slightest sense of danger. "You okay?" he said quickly.

She exhaled slowly, trying to wrap her mind around what had happened. "What... Where am I?"

Aliara, despite her tired state, noticed the tips of Killua's ears turn red as he said, "my room. It was the quickest place we could get you to, after what happened last night." Despite the closeness and their situation, Killua's voice was steady.

"What happened last night," she echoed, the memories of her father, the old house, blood, blood, and more blood flooding into her mind. "Oh. I see."

"Leorio wrapped up your arm and your shoulder," Killua pointed out, lightly tapping her shoulder. The simple touch sent shivers up Aliara's spine. "And Gon and I cleared most of the blood of your skin. We didn't want to change your clothes, so you're going to have to do that yourself. You've got a lot of blood on them."

Aliara blinked, the sentences reeling through her head. She looked down. Indeed, crimson red was splattered on top of burgundy. "Where're my gloves?"

Killua pointed to the table at the side. She nodded slowly, falling back onto the bed. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she managed, "I'm sorry for taking up your bed."

"Don't mention it," the white-haired boy replied, hopping off. "You were injured."

 _That's all it was,_ she reminded herself, enjoying the feel of the pillow behind her head. _I was injured, that's it._

 _But he hugged me back in the house, when he found me._ The mere memory seemed to turn Aliara's cheeks bright pink, but she stopped herself. _He just did it because I'm his friend. That's it._ Now that she thought about it, that was kind of embarrassing, Killua finding her while she was sobbing. Kinda pathetic.

Aliara sat up again, "Sorry about all the trouble I caused you guys."

"Not your fault," Killua said immediately. He was in the middle of pulling on a new shirt _(oh my god oh my god oh my god)_ and he turned to face her, his blue eyes strangely sympathetic and soft. "It's kind of my fault that I let you go."

"No," she objected, crossing her legs, "You couldn't have stopped me from going."

He smirked. "Yeah, Gon said the same thing."

"Gon?" Aliara asked quizzically.

"Yeah, yesterday. We were both trying to blame each other, and ended up putting you at fault," he teased, leaning against the wall.

She rolled her eyes. "Can't argue with that."

Killua seemed to be having an internal debate with himself before he hopped up on the bed again, sitting the same way she was, cross-legged. "I mean..." he trailed off, and Aliara tried not to internally panic. "Are you okay?" he tried softly. "You know..." For once, the blue-eyed boy actually looked... shy.

"I'm okay for now," she admitted, smiling softly. "You helped, though."

"I did?" Killua's eyebrows flew to the top of his head. "Uh, of course I did."

She giggled. "I mean, when you found me. After everything." Aliara remembered it well, everything from the way Killua had stared from Francis's body to her in horror, the way he had been extremely careful when going to hug her, the way he squeezed her so tightly as soon as he realized she wasn't horribly injured and how safe she felt, and how this horrible nightmare felt like it would be over.

"Oh," he replied quietly, developing a sudden interest in the plain bed sheets.

"I'm sorry about that," Aliara added quickly, "that was kind of embarrassing. And pathetic. And-"

"Moron. You," Killua said firmly, flicking her in the forehead, "need to stop apologizing. This isn't your fault. And that wasn't pathetic."

"You're lying, that was horrible."

He snorted, "I'm not. We ended up talking to a guy who said that the stupid restaurant didn't exist, so we followed the tracker, which worked perfectly. We were all really worried about you." Killua's voice softened, and he seemed to take up his internal debate again before he tried, "I was worried about you."

Aliara said something really intelligent, like "oh?" It came out an octave higher than usual, her voice a squeak.

"I mean," Killua said, suddenly looking really nervous. Aliara's heart was hammering so hard she thought it was going to leap out of her chest. "Well, I was worried about you after the last stage of the Hunter Exam, and when we had to get you out of that mansion, and when you fought Sadaso- well, not really in that case, but this was different."

"How so?" the black-haired girl said quietly, her throat dry.

He thought for a long, agonizing second before he replied, "I actually thought we were going to lose you. That you'd be gone for good."

"I can take care of myself," Aliara pointed out, trying to smile.

"I know that. But I can still worry, can't I? Gon and I- well, we don't want to let you get taken away like that."

They both sat in silence. Aliara's hands were shifting nervously- she couldn't keep her hands still. Her brain was already pulling up random potential scenarios that were making her fidgety. Just her and Killua, in a room by themselves, taking about each other... She wanted so badly to just blurt it out, get the humiliation over with. But she didn't think she could handle the rejection afterwards.

"Killua, I..."

Oh crap. It was starting, the words were already out of her mouth, there was no taking this back now-

"Yeah?"

"I, uh," she stammered, "I want to tell you... I, uh, want..."

 _God dammit god dammit god freaking damn it all why is this so hard-_

"Water!" Aliara said suddenly, her eyes widening. "I, uh, I'm really thirsty, and I kind of want water, if you don't mind, I mean."

Great. Not only had she been _so damn close_ but now she was rambling.

"Y- Yeah!" Killua cried out, hopping awkwardly back off the bed, stumbling as he went for the door. His cheeks were faintly pink, but Aliara knew that the shade of red that her cheeks were bound to be was over the scale. "I'll get that. I'll be back! Right back." Despite the situation, Aliara could tell that Killua hadn't been as embarrassed as she had. He was much more confident than her.

And he left, slamming the door shut a bit too hard.

Aliara groaned and flopped back on her pillow- _Killua's_ pillow- and smacked herself in the forehead.

(Not that she would know, but Killua was currently leaning against the wall outside the room, cursing.)

They had both been so, _so_ close.

* * *

 **Tawnypelt37:** Yeah, I feel bad for her too. Thank you! Thanks for your review! :)

 **havanatitiana:** Poor Killua. Thanks for your review! :D

 **bunnyxstar:** Aha, I have noticed that- especially in this fandom. There's plenty of stories that are years and years old. I'm so glad you're enjoying this one! Thank you so much! :D

 **Night Owl:** Aha thank you! Yes, the suspense was quite high, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thank you! :D

 **Guest (1):** I'm glad you liked the end, and I'm so happy you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you for your review! :D

 **G:** Thank you! :)

 **Reading1Dragon:** Yep, I'm going to be cruel and drag this on a bit longer. Who doesn't love playing with their character's heartstrings?! Yeah, I might've done the same in her position. Thanks for your review! :)

 **Guest (2):** YOUR LONG REVIEWS MAKE ME SO HAPPY! I'm so happy you liked it! Yes, I kind of wanted to show a bit of Killua, Leorio, and Gon, but I thought it was best to just focus the entire chapter on Aliara. It paid off, too. Yep, keeping Gon and Leorio out of the end definitely made the ending a bit sweeter. The fight scenes are so much fun to write, I'm so glad you enjoy them! Aha I'm a huge fan of Big Hero Six, I understand. It's such a cute movie!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEW! :D

 **Ccali:** Aww thank you! I'm so happy you're enjoying! :)

 **Illuminated:** Thank you! It's difficult trying not to focus just on Ali, but I still have to make sure she's significant in the story line too. Thank you for your review! :D

 **IMPORTANT NOTE: Next week's update will be late or may not come at all. I'm leaving on a trip tomorrow for the United States and won't get back for about a week, so I will be unable to write. This trip is for a camp. I'm so sorry and I'll try to have the next chapter up as soon as possible :)**

 **Also; what do y'all think will happen to Ali when she, Killua, and Gon are captured by the Phantom Troupe? (This question so totally has no ulterior motive [HELP I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN I GET THERE])**


	32. Zepile

**Chapter 32: Zepile**

Aliara scampered out of Killua's room pretty quickly after that.

She also took the day off, which was nice and very much needed.

Gon stopped by her room later with a mug of hot chocolate, and it made Aliara's day. He stayed in her room for a while, grinning and chatting about lighthearted things and explaining what they were planning on doing. He told her specifically to stay in her room or just relax all day, and she couldn't argue with that. He left after giving her a hug and telling her he was happy she was okay.

Aliara sighed and flopped back on her bed. What had she done to deserve Gon? He was such a blessing.

"So," she mused, "we're hunting down members of the Phantom Troupe for money." That was what Gon had told her. They were offering around two billion for any of them. He'd shown her pictures, but she didn't recognize anyone.

The boys were out, doing auction stuff, and trying to work on getting information about the Phantom Troupe members.

Aliara sighed softly.

Why bother hunting down incredibly skilled assassins when they could just turn her in, for the price of five of the Troupe members?

No. She needed to stop thinking like that.

She hopped off the bed immediately went to the shower. Only when she was done did she move over to her work table, narrowly avoiding stepping on multiple screws as she went. She wasn't exactly neat. Aliara carefully picked up the pair of sunglasses that she had been working on recently and starting fiddling with the lenses again.

 _We'll all be okay,_ she reasoned, snapping a metal clamp onto a part of the sunglasses, _I won't have to leave them again._

* * *

The knock on her door came several hours later. Aliara prayed that it was Killua and Gon- she was in no condition to go out into the public, both physically and mentally. The building she had done so far that day had definitely helped.

She swung open the door to reveal the two boys with a tall, orange-haired man in tow. He was carrying what looked to be a large wooden case. She blinked quizzically at him.

"Hi?" Aliara tried.

The man studied her, the smirk not dropping from his face. Aliara couldn't blame him- she had changed into a baggy black hoodie and grey sweat pants, had nothing on her feet, and hadn't even brushed her hair- it was just thrown up in a loose ponytail to get it out of her face.

"You must be Ali," the man said, beaming. "I'm Zepile."

"Okay," she replied, glancing to Killua for guidance.

The white-haired boy gestured to Zepile with a jerk of his head. "He's going to crack that open and see if there's treasure inside."

"Sure, why not?" Aliara said tiredly, swinging the door open all the way. "Try not to stop on anything."

Thankfully, Aliara's room had a clear area- on one side of the bed. They all sat in a circle, gathered around the wooden box thing, and Zepile pulled some tools out of a small case he was carrying. The wooden box opened with a snap, and a pile of gold treasure tumbled out.

"Wow!" Gon exclaimed, Killua echoing him a second later.

Aliara's eyes widened. Not bad.

"They're all authentic," Zepile confirmed, eyeing them carefully. "Even if you sell them at a low price, you'll get over 300 million."

"Ooooh," Killua, Gon, and Aliara all cooed at once. Killua's expression resembled a cat, and it made Aliara snicker. The boys continued to discuss selling the treasure with Zepile as Aliara tuned out their conversation.

"You want to come, Ali?" Gon asked as the trio stood up.

Aliara hastily got to her feet. "Where?"

"To go put these in an auction," Zepile said excitedly, gathering the items up in his arms.

She shrugged and agreed, putting on socks and slipping her feet in her shoes. She made sure her earrings were in as she slipped on her gloves. She was good to go. The black-haired girl followed the boys out the door and down to the auction site, where they got the gems entered in the auction. Aliara huffed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes- she probably looked like a wreck.

"Ne, Killua," she managed, trying not to flush as she remembered their conversation this morning, "do you still have the phone?"

He blinked and pulled the small flip phone out of his pocket. "Yeah. Why?"

"Just wondering what happened to it," Aliara murmured, managing a small smile before she ducked her head back to Zepile's conversation with the man at the desk. Killua turned back too, jamming the phone back in his pocket.

Aliara felt a little more secure for some reason. She didn't really understand why.

The rest of the process passed like a blur. Plenty of people took interest in the items they were selling, while others tried to prove them as fakes. Aliara stifled a yawn and moved between items, looking to see if there was anything she would like. Nothing really caught her eye- she'd seen enough gold and jewels to last a lifetime. Afterwards, they all went back outside. Zepile seemed pretty frustrated with how things were going, and Aliara wondered where the hell they'd found someone who was so devoted to helping them make so much money.

"I'm going to walk around," she interrupted blandly.

The three boys stared at her. "Don't go too far, okay?" Gon added as she turned.

Aliara waved a hand over her shoulder casually to show that she heard him. She didn't get far before she discovered a large booth that was selling weapons. Interested, Aliara held up one blade so she could see it better.

"You interested, ma'am?" someone called.

She looked up. A middle-aged man was sitting behind the counter, gazing up at her. His voice had a respectful tone, she noticed. He was taking her seriously. She liked him already. "Not exactly," Aliara replied, setting the blade down. "I'm just browsing."

"If you say so," he replied with a shrug. "Just don't damage the merchandise, okay?"

"Fair enough," she mused, holding up a long machete.

The man shook his head before turning to help another customer. Aliara continued to go through blades- jagged, sharp, long, and short. Her hands were enough to slice through skin, sure. It was kind of fun to see how weird these things were, though.

"This blade is dull," the black-haired girl said aloud, squinting at a silver blade with a red handle.

"I'm sorry, what?" The man who was running the booth had come back to see her, and he chuckled when he saw what she was holding. "That? Ma'am, I'm afraid you may be mistaken. That's one of the sharpest blades I have."

"Really now," Aliara deadpanned. She turned the blade over in her hand, before she tossed it up in the air and caught it again by the handle.

The man looked shocked. "Ma'am! Please be careful with that!"

Aliara was about to object when she heard her name being called. Over her shoulder, she spotted Gon, waving his arms frantically. "Yeah. Sorry." She set the knife back down and backed away slowly, winking. "Have fun."

"Fun?!" the man spluttered.

But she was already gone, running after Gon. "We've got a reported sighting of some of the Phantom Troupe," Gon said excitedly. "We're meeting Leorio somewhere soon. We'll make a plan when we get there."

"Sure," Aliara agreed, suddenly wishing she had actually worn something suitable rather than a baggy black hoodie and sweatpants. She rolled her eyes and followed Gon. Killua was waiting for them both, and together they took off, ready to find Leorio.

* * *

 _"That's_ them?" Aliara asked incredulously as she peered out the window at the pair of people that they were trying to hunt. Killua nodded. Leorio shut off his phone, and Aliara watched two people that were sitting close to the pair get up and bolt. "Couldn't they have been a bit more subtle?" she grumbled under her breath.

"Now the problems begin," Leorio breathed as they all sat down. "How do we capture those two?"

"It's impossible," Killua stated plainly. Aliara cocked her eyebrows but stayed silent- Killua knew more about the Phantom Troupe than she did. "We can't do anything if we try and face them."

Leorio started protesting, but Aliara zoned out, as she tended to do. Killua was right, they had much more experience than them.

"Imagine two Hisokas sitting at a table," she intervened in the middle of Leorio's protesting.

"Exactly," Killua agreed as Gon and Leorio both visibly paled.

Aliara snickered as Killua continued to break down the situation- how the pair of people were probably just waiting to be hunted down. They didn't exactly look like they were in fear of it, anyways.

Suddenly, the atmosphere changed. It was tense.

"Do they notice us?" Gon whispered.

Killua shook his head. "They're on guard, though."

Aliara heard them. Their receding footsteps...

"Do you still want to go after them?" Killua mused. "They're getting up and leaving." Both Gon and Leorio confirmed that they did. Aliara shrugged nonchalantly- sounded like fun, anyways. They all went out to the square- Gon, Killua, and Aliara had already activated their zetsu.

Leorio stared at them in disbelief- he couldn't feel their presence at all. Aliara smirked, because that meant they were doing it right. "Alright, Gon, Ali. Rules," Killua started, holding up his fingers.

Aliara rolled her eyes.

"If they see us, we stop following immediately. Okay?"

Aliara sighed and frowned at Killua. _I guess I have to take this seriously. Huh._

"Second," he continued, "if we think it's impossible to continue, we stop."

She swallowed. Suddenly this sounded a lot more dangerous.

Then they set off. Leorio was staying behind to deal with the auction stuff, but the trio were still going. Aliara kept to the ground, thinking. This really brought her back to her old assassination days, when her mother forced her to go on missions. She'd been trained to tail since she was young, but this wasn't easy. Their targets had their guard up, and she had to be very, very careful.

The targets started heading for a deserted area. Aliara prayed that they hadn't been spotted- but there was no change in behavior, so she had to guess that they were okay. The fact they were being led to a deserted area felt very sketchy...

They stopped.

On a platform, that stood surrounded by old, deserted, wrecked buildings. Aliara subconsciously remembered the building that she had been forced to retreat to last night and swallowed hard.

She was on the top floor of one building, peering out. They hadn't looked at her.

The black-haired girl inhaled slowly as the male pulled out his phone.

Then, he glanced at her, and she felts chills.

Aliara turned and bolted at the doorway, only to find it blocked by a short figure with black hair. He wore a long robe that was tucked over his mouth, and his hair was scrawny and messy. The aura levels from this guy were crazy, and he seemed really strong, and Aliara knew there was no chance of beating this guy.

She dove for the window.

Suddenly he was right in front of her- how he had moved so fast, Aliara couldn't be sure.

Then he was behind her-

She felt her life flashing before her eyes-

And then his arm was around her neck in something like a choke hold. Aliara froze, sweat running down her face.

"Don't move, unless you want to die," the man whispered, his voice low and creepy.

She didn't move.

She was captured.

* * *

 **xenocannan:** Aha thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed!

 **masoliki1:** Thank you! Thanks for your review! :)

 **havanatitiana:** Thank you for the suggestions, you've actually given me an idea. Thank you very much! :D

 **Night Owl:** Aha thank you! You're making me blush :D Thanks for your review! :)

 **Audley Moore:** Thank you so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story and your praise makes me smile, I'm so glad you like Aliara :) Thank you! :D

 **G:** Thank you!

 **Reading1Dragon:** She's got green eyes, like emeralds. Thanks for your review! :)

 **Guest:** Yus, Big Hero 6 is fantastic. Thank you, as always, for your extra long review and all your feedback! You never fail to make me smile! :) Thank you!

 **Tawnypelt37:** Thank you so so much! :D

 **RedBurningDragon:** So close, yet so far, eh? :D


	33. Troupe

**Chapter 33: Troupe**

This was the worst day of Aliara's life, and that was really saying something.

One, she had woken up in Killua's room and completely flubbed her attempt at an confession.

Two, she spent all morning venting her anger and avoiding the general public.

Three, she's gone out in sweats and a hoodie with her messy hair pulled up- probably not how Adrianna Lorvell's daughter should look. Not that she cared.

Four, she'd just gotten captured. Great.

They'd all been piled in a car and driven off through town. Aliara recognized no landmarks or anything at all. She just watched the cars fly by until the car skirted to a quick stop. "Out," the man in black said calmly.

Aliara, gritting her teeth, slid out of the car seat. She _hated_ being told what to do. Not like she had any choice. She saw Killua and Gon walking ahead of her. Neither of them turned around, which was fine by her.

"Welcome to our hideout," declared a tall lady in a revealing purple suit with a short chop of light hair.

 _Hideout?! Are they serious-_

Yes, they were serious. Seated atop mountains of debris and stone were several other people- including a tall man that eerily resembled Frankenstein, which freaked Aliara out. Another man was wrapped up like a mummy and was wearing boxing gloves. _Sure, why not._ There was an innocent-looking girl reading a book, a friendly-looking blond boy in a purple and teal suit that was probably anything but friendly, and...

Oh, of _course_ Hisoka was there. She wasn't really surprised anymore.

 _We don't know each other,_ Aliara decided, turning away from them deliberately. She jammed her hands in her pockets- they didn't have to see the gloves she had on.

"Ah!" Gon cried out as he saw Hisoka.

The black-haired girl wanted to smack Gon repeatedly over the head- _idiot, idiot, idiot!_

Somehow Killua managed to cover for them, pointing at the black-haired girl reading the book and saying loudly, "It's the girl from arm wrestling!" The Phantom Troupe seemed to find this believable. Aliara exhaled slowly. That was too close.

"You know them, Shizuku?" asked a tall blond man that had been with Killua in the car.

The girl shrugged, her glasses slipping down on her nose. "No."

The creepy, black-cloaked man who was as tall as she was spoke, and it made Aliara's heart twist for some reason. "Ah, I remember. He's the boy who was arm wrestling." He still stood behind her, a good few feet, but not nearly enough to allow Aliara to feel comfortable.

"When was this?" she asked.

The Frankenstein man pointed one stubby finger at Gon. "The day before yesterday, you lost to the kid arm wrestling."

"You're wasting your time," Creepy Short Man behind her called out quietly. "If she doesn't remember the first time, she'll never remember."

"Why would I have done that, when I'm left-handed?"

"Never mind," Frankenstein said with a sigh. "My mistake."

"Evidently."

There was another man, who was tall with long black hair. "So you beat Shizuku in arm wrestling?"

Gon nodded slowly. Killua marveled, "if I had known that she was part of the Troupe..."

Aliara scowled. Killua was playing the innocent child act, and there was nothing wrong with it; in fact, he did it perfectly. Fine. She would just continue to play the moody, silent teenager, which wasn't exactly too much acting.

"Fine," the tall man said softly, tying his hair behind his head. "Play against me."

They set up some sort of table- a wood board on top of an uneven pile of bricks and wood chunks. The tall man immediately slammed Gon's arm to the ground, and he raised his arm again. "One more time," he said calmly.

Aliara refrained from rolling her eyes- she really needed to learn some names, or else she'd be labeling everyone. Gon's face strained with effort, but his hand was smacked down again, and she felt a pang of sympathy. They were in a dangerous place, and they could easily die, which sucked.

"What's my ranking for arm wrestling?" Long-Haired Man mused.

The girl with pink hair that had accompanied Gon in the car shrugged. "Seventh or eighth, I think. Not weak, but not strong."

Long-Haired Man nodded slowly, turning back to Gon, Killua, and herself. He frowned. "The strongest among us was a guy named Uvogin. It seems he's been killed by that man with the chain."

Aliara's eyes widened. Chain? Where'd that come from?

"We already told you that we didn't know him, didn't we?" Killua protested. She frowned- they'd been interrogated. She hadn't.

"Next time you open your mouth without permission, I'll kill you," the man said back.

Aliara felt a presence creep up behind her and the little hairs on her arms stood on end. "You seemed surprised, girl," said a loud, confident voice. It was the tall blond man who'd come with Killua in the car. "Did Feitan not question you?"

Feitan. That was Creepy Short Man's name.

She shook her head.

"I didn't find any need to," Feitan said with a shrug- although it was hard to tell with that cloak. "I can torture it out of her, if you want." The tone of his voice suggested that he really wasn't kidding, and Aliara swallowed down a protest.

"Have you ever seen or heard anything about someone who uses chains as weapons?" the blond man continued.

Aliara shook her head again, keeping her expression as neutral as she could make it.

"Are you mute, girl?" he snapped.

"Last I checked, no," she snapped back, struggling to control her temper.

His eyebrows shot up. "You little brat," the blond man snarled, glaring down at her.

To Aliara's surprise, the pink-haired girl spoke up. "You asked a question, Phinks. She answered."

Phinks glared at the pink-haired girl angrily, "she's got too much attitude!"

Aliara turned the majority of her attention back to the arm wrestling, still keeping the fuming Phinks in the corner of her eye. To her surprise, the man with the long black hair had tears leaking down his cheeks as he spoke of Uvogin, a member who had apparently been killed. Aliara bit the inside of her cheek, conflicted. _He's mourning the loss of his closest friend. But at the same time, he's a murderer who deserves death._

"I don't know anything," Gon said slowly, "and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

Killua's eyes widened as wide as dinner plates.

Aliara groaned inwardly- this boy was _so_ dead.

The other Phantom Troupe members seemed surprised too. Gon continued, his face contorted with rage, "being able to cry for his companion. I was thinking you couldn't cry, nor did you have a heart. But in that case... _why..._ don't you share that feeling, even a little, with all the people _that you kill!"  
_

Gon slammed the man's hand down on the table with a slam. Immediately, Feitan zoomed behind Gon and pinned his arm behind his back.

Killua started forward, but Hisoka popped out of nowhere and held a playing card- a two of spades- to the side of Killua's neck. The white-haired boy froze.

Aliara hadn't moved. Nor did she plan to, if they were all as fast as this. She clenched her teeth- she'd never felt so helpless. "Answer my question," Feitan said quietly, twisting Gon's arm up into his back. "Do you know the chain guy?"

"I'll say it again," Gon managed through gritted teeth, "I have nothing to tell you!"

"Feitan, stop it," the long-haired man said tiredly.

Aliara almost flinched. There was enough aura roaring from both the long-haired man and Feitan to keep Aliara energized for a month. "Stop what?" the short man asked quietly, threateningly. She wouldn't have been surprised if he were an assassin of some sort. They both argued, Feitan beginning to go into gruesome detail about what he would do to Gon, and they flipped a coin. The tall man, Nobunaga, as the Frankenstein man called him, won. Gon was safe, and Aliara felt herself releasing a breath that she didn't know she was holding.

"What are we going to do with them?" the girl, Shizuku, asked. "They haven't told us anything about the chain guy."

Frankenstein shrugged, "if they don't know anything, let's release them. What do you say, Pakunoda?"

Pakunoda, the lady in the purple suit, frowned. "I examined the boys on the way here, and they know nothing. Not the girl, though."

Aliara's blood ran cold. Examined? For what?

"Let the boys go, then," Nobunaga decided. "Keep the girl."

"No!" Killua cried out immediately. Hisoka was next to him in an instant, preventing him from moving again with the card to his neck.

Phinks rolled his eyes. "We won't hurt your little girlfriend," he said, "unless she knows something. Since you two don't, I doubt she does." He placed a hand on Aliara's shoulder, his grip tight and like steel.

Aliara was shaking in her shoes.

"I've seen your face before," Nobunaga mused, staring at her. "I know I have."

Crap, they'd seen the bounty-

She was so doomed-

"Well, I was holding the prize from the arm wrestling thing," she said smoothly, surprised at how easily the words flowed out of her mouth. "You might have seen me then."

"That's not it," he replied immediately, leaning down to get a good look at her. Aliara tried to think of something else to say, but it felt like something was lodged in her throat. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't speak-

"Pakunoda," the pink-haired girl said softly, "you should check her."

Aliara clenched her hands into fists, hidden in her sweater pockets.

"We can't let the boys go," Nobunaga said, standing upright and allowing Aliara to breathe a little easier. "Not until we're absolutely sure there's no connection."

There was a bit of arguing. About whether or not this chain man acted alone or not. Until:

"Kid. Join the Phantom Troupe."

"Never," Gon replied immediately. "I'd rather die."

Nobunaga chuckled, "he seems to really hate us."

Phinks and the pink-haired girl exchanged an odd look that said: _Is he serious?_ Aliara would've laughed if she wasn't busy fearing for her own life as well as her best friends'. Within the next minute, Nobunaga and Feitan had taken Killua and Gon away.

Killua looked over his shoulder at her.

Aliara tried to give him her best _I'll-be-okay_ expression but she didn't know how well that turned out.

Feitan returned, and then it was just her in a room with about ten other professional killers. This was going to go well, wasn't it? She tried to keep herself as ready as possible, in case there was any chance of an opening. Not that she thought she'd get any.

"What do you need to know?" she tried, ignoring the persistent clamp on her shoulder that was Phinks's hand.

A gentle hand drifted to her other shoulder, and Aliara tried her best not to shiver. "Just about the chain guy," Pakunoda said smoothly. "Do you remember anything?"

"No," Aliara said honestly, trying not to bolt away, screaming at the top of her lungs.

The lady sighed softly. "No, you really don't."

 _How did she-_

"Keep your hand on her," Phinks said gruffly, removing his hand and turning to face her. "Nobunaga wasn't kidding when he said he recognized her. I've seen that face somewhere too."

Aliara's breath hitched, and she tried her best to banish all thoughts of anything related to her family to the back of her brain.

"What's in your hands?"

Aliara turned her head. Feitan, who was lounging on a rather long piece of debris, was gazing at her skeptically. "Don't make me repeat myself."

She pulled her hands out of her pockets. "Nothing."

"Are those gloves?" Shizuku murmured.

"They don't look like regular gloves," the pink-haired girl said, her gaze hard and cold.

Aliara heard her words before she could actually process what she was saying. "They _are_ gloves. I just built them myself."

There was a pause. "You built them," Frankenstein rumbled.

She nodded.

"What do they do?" This time, the shorter and friendlier-looking blond man spoke up.

Honesty was the best policy, right? "I've built in a laser on the back," Aliara said, trying not to dive into a full-out explanation that would take a good, solid hour. "And the center can switch into sticky pads, so I can stick to different surfaces."

"How'd you do that?" the blond man asked, cocking his head to the side.

Aliara swallowed as she tried to hold his gaze. "I built them myself," she repeated numbly.

"Let me see," Phinks ordered.

There was a pause. These people would be the _last_ people she'd want to trust with her precious inventions. But, yet again, she didn't really have a choice. Carefully, Aliara slipped them off her hands. "Don't break them," she said, and Aliara was surprised- her voice wasn't even pleading. It was demanding, and threatening. Probably not the best idea in this kind of environment.

"How old are you?" the blond man inquired.

"Thirteen," she replied without removing her gaze from the gloves as Phinks turned them over in his hands.

"What's your name?"

"Ali."

"Is that short for something?"

Aliara didn't reply. She wasn't going to lie, but she wasn't going to tell the whole truth, either.

Phinks handed the gloves back, and added gruffly, "they're well made."

Her face flushed. A compliment from someone in the Phantom Troupe? Where was this coming from? "Thank you," she replied quietly, tucking the gloves back in her pockets, but not putting them on.

"It's no wonder you recognize her."

Aliara's blood froze. She'd completely forgotten about Pakunoda. _No, no, no-_

"There's a bounty poster for her," the lady said, almost cheerful as she removed her hand and stalked back over to her spot on the debris pile. "You've probably seen it around, Phinks."

The hulking Frankenstein-like man snorted. "This girl, have a bounty?"

Aliara squeezed her eyes shut, already knowing what was coming.

"For ten billion," Pakunoda said swiftly.

She opened them again. The Phantom Troupe members were staring at her with renewed interest in their eyes, as if she were suddenly some prize that needed to be obtained. She glared back defiantly- no weakness. That was something she'd learned at home, and she'd never intended to abandon it.

"Do you want to tell them, or shall I?" the lady mused.

Aliara swallowed. It was better that it came from her words, not any others. Especially Pakunoda.

"My name is Aliara Lorvell," she started. "I'm a sister to seven others in the Lorvell mansion. My mother was an absolute tyrant and a horrible person, so I ran away. She wants me back, purely for the success of the family. That's what the bounty is for."

"Lorvell?" Phinks snapped angrily, with so much venom in his voice that it surprised Aliara. She didn't reply, only bit her lip and ducked her head.

Phinks cursed out a string of words so foul that Aliara thought her ears would bleed.

"We'll keep her," Feitan said slowly, "and wait for the boss."

"Ten billion is a lot," Hisoka mused, and Aliara glared daggers at him. _Hisoka, I'm going to kill you-_

There was a pause.

Aliara wouldn't be surprised if one of them had just jumped up and stabbed her, right then and there.

"Well, little miss Lorvell," Pakunoda said, her voice unnaturally smooth, "you've definitely made our situation a little more interesting."

"It's doing wonders for me, too," she replied instantly, regretting her sarcasm.

What made everything so much worse was the creepy glare that Feitan was giving her- a look of dark amusement and scheming. "We're going to have a lot of fun, Lorvell," Feitan said with a faint smirk, and Aliara's nerves came crashing down on her all over again.

What had she gotten herself into?

* * *

 **xenocannan:** Thank you! :D

 **havanatitiana:** Thank you! :) :)

 **Reading1Dragon:** Aww, those kids sound cute, I can picture them already. Thanks for your review! :)

 **Guest:** Aha you're so funny! I love reading your reviews, honestly. They're so cute aaaaaa XD Thanks for your review! ;)

 **Rynn:** Aha, I'm a huge fan of Feitan as well. He's so creepy and strong and I love it XD I'm so glad you enjoyed!

 **Night Owl:** I'm glad you noticed! Thank you for your review! :) :D

 **Anyone notice how the birthdays in Hunter X Hunter are related?**

 **Leorio: March 3rd (03 03)**

 **Kurapika: April 4th (04 04)**

 **Gon: May 5th (05 05)**

 **Hisoka: June 6th (06 06)**

 **Killua: July 7th (07 07)**

 **...and did anyone else notice how I made Ali's birthday on the 8th of August?**


	34. Fall

**Chapter 34: Fall**

Aliara huffed and tucked her knees up into her chest, huddled on top of a large slab of stone. This sucked.

The Troupe was generally kind of quiet, with occasional remarks being tossed around here and there. Plenty of questions revolved around what to do with her, because apparently their boss was out. Aliara stayed quiet in her spot. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with this.

It got more interesting when Phinks lost his temper.

"You think they'd mind if I bloodied her up a bit?" Feitan had asked, holding up a hand.

The Frankenstein-Man scoffed. "They're filthy rich, prim, and proper. They'd probably mind."

"They're a bunch of shitty people," Phinks snapped, banging a hand on a piece of wood and sending it flipping up through the air. "They care for no one but themselves and they're all assholes, the entire lot of them."

Aliara blinked. There must be something behind that anger of his; nobody was that angry over nothing.

"What did they do to you?" she asked quietly, tilting her head up.

Phinks' face was turning different shades of red, and he spat out, "none of your business, brat." He sat himself down, hard, on a chunk of stone, glaring furiously at her. "And don't say 'they' like you're not one of them."

Aliara wanted to object, but she wisely decided to snap her mouth shut.

Why the hell had she even taken the risk of following the Troupe members anyways?

 _Probably because I hate being left out of things,_ she mused silently as she regarded some of the other members. _And I know I have a bounty, but I can't stay inside for the rest of my life, can I?_

"Boss's orders," the blond boy, who's name was Shalnark (as she had picked up from various conversations), "we're to head out and cause as much havoc as possible."

Her eyes widened. _At the auction?!_

"What about the girl?" the mummified-man croaked out, cocking his head to one side. Aliara shivered.

Shalnark shrugged. "What do you think?"

"We should kill her," Phinks said immediately. "She's worthless."

"Worthless?" Pakunoda replied, frowning. "I think it's quite the opposite."

Aliara laced her fingers together and felt sweat roll down her neck. _They're debating what to do with me. They're debating what to do with me. I have to get out, I have to get out of here-_

"I'll take her~" purred the ever-creepy voice of the jester.

Her blood froze as the Spiders turned to Hisoka. _No-_

"What do you have in mind, Hisoka?" the large man rumbled.

Hisoka shrugged casually, licking his lips. "We'll all follow the boss' order, of course. But I'll keep an eye on her. If she gets away, she gets away. But I'll be sure to keep her on a leash." He hopped down from his pile of rocks, smirking.

Phinks slammed a hand down on the stone. "We kill her. I'm not listening to any of your pathetic bull, clown-"

"Arguments are forbidden among members," the quiet girl with the black hair piped up.

"Does anyone have any other alternatives?" the pink-haired girl asked.

No one said a word.

She felt like she was going to throw up; they were either going to kill her or leave her with Hisoka, she didn't know what was worse.

"We'll flip a coin."

Feitan tossed Phinks a coin, who clutched it in his hand before turning to Hisoka. "Call it."

Suddenly, she didn't want to die.

"Heads," Hisoka trilled as the coin rotated through the air.

Aliara seemed to watch the coin fall in slow motion, praying to any god she'd ever read about that Hisoka was going to win the coin flip-

The coin landed in Phinks' palm and he flipped it onto his wrist, slowly pulling up his hand.

The black-haired girl exhaled slowly-

-it was heads.

"I win," Hisoka murmured triumphantly.

"Fine," Phinks snapped, jamming the coin into his pocket with much more force than necessary. "Take the girl, I never want to see her again. If I do, she's dead." He turned on his heel and marched away, Feitan following, his eyes slanted.

The group members began to move out, and Aliara watched their backs as they left, trying to memorize as much about them as she could. But what the hell was Hisoka even going to do to her?

Soon, it was just her and the jester.

The pale-faced man chuckled, watching her with amusement. "Come on, pet," he murmured as he made his way to the exit, "Let's go sightseeing."

Sightseeing?

She didn't really have a choice- Hisoka could kill her in less than a second. Aliara growled under her breath and followed him.

* * *

He had brought her to the top of the hotel, on the roof, overlooking the city, taking only back roads and routes that never allowed them to run into anyone. He had never once turned around to make sure she was still following him, but Aliara had looked for any possible opening that she could've had and found nothing. Hisoka seemed impossible to beat- in a fight or just simply escaping. Aliara was furious with herself. _I should be able to get out of this, I'm an assassin, aren't I?_

"Quite the view," the jester mused, gazing down off the edge of the building.

The black-haired girl didn't say a word. She didn't really know what to say.

"You're quite interesting, little miss Lorvell," Hisoka purred, gazing back at her with dark eyes. Aliara felt petrified. "You're quite rebellious."

She didn't reply, only stayed frozen on her spot on the roof. Her hair whipped around in the wind, and she was shivering- from both Hisoka's intense pressure and the wind chill that was so much colder up on the roof.

"And you're so precious to Gon and Killua."

Her blood heated up, and suddenly she wasn't cold anymore. Her hands clenched into fists.

"I wonder," he mused, taking a step towards her, "how they would react if they saw their little girlfriend's bloody body."

Aliara finally summoned all her courage and stepped backwards, away from Hisoka. She couldn't fight him; she knew that. Her only hope was running away, but she wasn't even wearing her gloves.

She took another step, which was slowly turning into a run.

But Hisoka was already behind her, and there was something very very sharp pressed against the side of her neck.

"Didn't I tell you not to run away?"

Aliara made a sound that sounded half like a dying animal and half like a scream.

He chuckled, the playing card still pressed up against her neck, "Ah, yes."

His cold, slender fingers closed around her neck and he hoisted her up. Aliara cursed internally as her feet left the ground, kicking wildly as Hisoka turned her around, his hands closed tightly around her neck. Aliara's rough hands clawed uselessly at Hisoka's pale ones, and she felt blood rushing to her brain. He was walking, and suddenly, when she looked down, there was nothing under her feet.

He was dangling her over the side of the building.

"I can't _wait_ to see those wonderful expressions."

Her brain was rushing, she couldn't see, she was running out of air-

"How... thrilling."

She was choking, her throat felt like it was going to burst-

"When they find your dead body, they'll be driven to hysterics."

This was it, she really was going to die-

"I can't _wait~"_

With her last surge of energy, Aliara's trembling finger nicked the button on her wristband from under the sweater sleeve. She threw her leg up, and with a mighty swing, the large pick that poked out of the shoe stabbed itself into Hisoka's arm.

She hadn't... _expected_ it to hurt him, which was the worst part. She'd been clinging onto a strand of hope that it would do anything, anything at all.

His gaze lit up, but not even in surprise. It seemed to be... almost, _delight._

Which was really creepy considering her shoe was embedded in his arm, blood leaking onto the ground. Aliara tore her foot down, and blood squirted out of Hisoka's wound. He didn't flinch, and his grip didn't even loosen.

"It was nice knowing you, Lorvell. Such a pity I never got to see you ripen."

He let go.

Aliara gasped for air as she tumbled through the air, spinning like a gymnast trying to do a flip. She coughed violently, trying to get oxygen into her system. The ground hurtled closer and closer; wind whistled by her ears.

Anything, _anything_ that could stop her fall-

Lamp post-

Maybe-

Breathe-

 _Breathe-_

Grab-

Screams-

 _Breathe-_

Aliara inhaled desperately, her blurry eyes trying to focus on the only thing that could save her at all.

 _I'm not going to die. Not today._

Her hands shot out, and her right hand snapped out and managed to latch onto a tall lamp post.

Her shoulder seemed to pop out of the joint with a sickening sound, and her entire arm felt like it was going to be brutally ripped off. With a tumble, she let go and fell to the ground, her arm hurting so bad that she felt like she'd been shot multiple times. She hit the ground hard, with a crunch and a smack. People screamed.

Aliara's head smacked off the cement, and everything died out.

* * *

 **havanatitiana:** Too bad there's no Killua POV this chapter, eh? XD Thanks for your review! :)

 **MayaHikari:** She's not exactly the brightest bulb in the pack, hmm? But you can't expect her to be cooped up for the rest of her life. Thanks for the review! :)

 **AudleyMoore:** I loved reading your review! I'm so happy you enjoyed the chapter! :D

 **Reading1Dragon:** Nothing wrong with a compliment, thanks for the review! :)

 **Guest:** Once again, your long review makes me oh so very happy :) Yeah, maybe being a moody teenager around the Troupe isn't the best. She's not exactly thinking clearly right now, poor her. I love Feitan, yes, and also Phinks for some weird reason. Thanks so so much for your beautiful review! :D

 **I apologize for length. School hit me hard.**


	35. Remember

**Chapter 35: Remember**

The light hurt. It threatened to burn her eyes out of her skull.

The bed- at least, she thought it was a bed- was uncomfortable. It creaked when she tried to twist.

Where the hell was she?

She tried to crack open her eyes, but her muscles wouldn't respond. She tried to speak, but her throat was dry. She tried to move, but only caused the slightest bit of creaking in the bed sheets and mattress.

She listened.

There was a tiny beeping sound from the right, at a constant ping. Maybe a heartbeat. Her heartbeat? Why would it be for herself? Was she injured? Dying? Check up? What was it? Maybe it wasn't for her at all. Maybe it was an alarm of sorts.

She heard the occasional set of footsteps, walking from her right to her left. Somewhat muffled. Behind a door, maybe?

She heard no one else in the room with her. She was alone, unless someone was hiding.

Successfully, she cracked open her eyes, blinking away the bright light that came from the long bulbs across the ceiling. She craned her neck up, waiting as the world shifted into focus, as the light stopped clouding her vision.

A small room, a lone door at the end, a meter away from the foot of her bed. She was laying on white sheets, dress in a faded white... _hospital gown?_ Was that where she was? A hospital? What did she do?

She surveyed herself. She had a cast along her right arm, from her hand all the way up to her bicep, locking her elbow in place. She had tight pads covering her shoulder and elbow, hooked in with a few straps. It was numb. It looked like she'd broken it. Or dislocated it. Or both.

Nothing else seemed to be broken. The beeping on her right had indeed been a heart monitor, with little suction cups pressed to her left wrist and the side of her neck.

She was about to try and figure out how to get herself out of the room when there was a polite knock and the door swung open. A female nurse with midnight black hair tucked into a bun popped in, beaming at her. "Ah, miss. You're awake."

Again, no words came out. "If you need water, there's a cup here," the nurse said quickly, grabbing one from a nearby table.

She drained the glass and set it down.

"Miss," the nurse said seating herself in a chair next to the bed, "can you tell me your name?"

That was when she started to panic.

 _What's my name?_

 _How can I not know my own name?_

She brought her left hand up to her head and winced. This hurt her brain. What the hell happened to her?

"Miss, you had a bad accident. We found you on one of the streets. Your shoulder was dislocated and your elbow shattered, as you can see." She gestured to the cast, jotting little notes down on a clipboard that she was dying to see.

She didn't like it here. She wanted to get out.

"You also hit your head," the nurse continued quietly. "The back of your skull will be bruised, but you've got a thick skull. It was close to a fracture. However, your brain might've been jostled around a bit. You scraped your forehead, so there was a lot of blood, but we cleaned it all up. Can you speak?"

She tried to take all this in at once. _The nurse is trying to help. The nurse is trying to help._ "Y... Yes," she managed, surprised at how crackly her voice was. At the sound of her voice.

The nurse beamed at her. "Perfect, miss. Can you raise your left hand for me?"

She did.

"Can you lift your right foot?"

She did.

"Perfect, miss."

She wanted to leave.

"I," she tried, only to find her voice clogging up again. "I want to leave."

She tried to think. What was her name? Her family? Pets, hobbies, jobs, age? What did she look like?

The nurse smiled sympathetically. "I understand, sweetie, but unfortunately we can't. We have to make sure you're perfectly well before we let you go."

No, she wanted to leave now. She decided she did not like being called 'sweetie'.

She reached up and patted her head. Hair. She ran her hand down the length of it, surprised at how long it was, and pulled it in front of her line of vision. Black, as black as night. She liked it.

The only thing she could deduce was that she had no memories. The idea made her want to curl up and cry.

"Miss, can you tell me your name?"

"I..." her throat dried up. She cast her mind around, trying to find anything that could get her out of here. She tried to think; she tried to remember anything, anything at all.

Someone calling something to her.

A distant memory, maybe?

"Ali," she tried, "my name... my name is Ali."

The nurse relaxed visibly. "Wonderful, Ali. Is that short for anything?"

She was absolutely positive that she had gone by Ali at some point in her life. But the only name she could think of that Ali could be short for... "Allison," she managed. "I like Ali, though."

"That's great," the nurse pushed. "What about your last name?"

 _Anything that will help me get out of here,_ she thought desperately. "M- Marin," she made up, cursing herself for how weird that name sounded together.

"Do you know where we are, Ali?" the nurse tried.

She smiled, thanking the fact that there was a sign just outside the door's window. "Yorknew City Hospital," she said proudly.

The nurse smiled even wider. "Brilliant. It seems you don't have amnesia, but we'll need to do a few more tests to find out. Wait here, and I'll be back-"

Suddenly, the door flung open. A man in a long white coat burst in. "Lilia, you're got to get out here."

"What is it?" the lady replied, standing up.

"Huge ruckus in the lobby," the man rushed, turning already to leave. "We've got to..." his voice trailed off. The man was staring at her with intense fascination, studying her face. It made her want to squirm. "Who is this?"

"She says her name is Allison Marin," the nurse, Lilia, said, moving to the door. "She's the patient from last night, the one who someone called in from the street."

Last night? The clock said 10:36. So she hadn't been here long...

"Allison Marin?" the man said, frowning. "But she's-"

 _But I'm what?!_

"Let's go!" someone called from the hall. The man was still watching her as he ran off, Lilia right behind him. Her blood was running cold; was she famous? Infamous? How had he recognized her? She knew he had.

As soon as they left, she swung herself out of the bed, ripping the cord with the suction cups off. As soon as her feet hit the floor, she felt dizzy; the world seemed to be spinning around her. Using the bed for guidance, she moved to the head of the room and peered out the door.

It was one long hallway, right to left. People were on both sides. She frowned, backing up and looking around the room again.

There was a vent at the top of the wall that she could probably fit through.

She shut the door and wobbled on her way over. She was just about to hop on the bed to reach for the vent when a boy's hand shot forward, shoved the vent out, and poked his head into the room.

Maybe it was instinct, but she flew out of the way. She back-flipped over the bed like second nature and landed on the far side of the room, pulling her hands up in fighting position.

"Ali!" the boy cried out, wriggling out of the vent and hopping down. He had spiky green-black hair and was wearing a green jacket with matching shorts. "Thank god we found you. Leorio's causing a ruckus outside, so we're getting you out of here. You'll have to tell us how you got away from the Phantom Troupe later, Killua was so upset, and I can't believe you're here. We heard about it and did some research and came straight away. Killua's finding your stuff and getting rid of evidence that you were even in this hospital with Kurapika, who we finally met up with. Let's go."

That was too much to wrap her head around. So much that her hands, which were up and ready to protect her face, almost wavered.

"Give me one good reason I should go with you," she snapped. Even if she didn't know him, they had a common goal.

His face twisted into genuine confusion. "Ali? What are you talking about?"

She flinched- something stirred inside her when he said her name. "Give me a reason!" she repeated, biting her lip.

The boy looked so genuinely upset, but he clenched his fists and stared at her- hard. "Because I'm your friend, Ali," he said, his voice never wavering once as he glared at her. "I'm your friend, and friends don't leave each other behind."

His voice was so truthful and honest that something inside of her just... broke. Her hands dropped, but she wouldn't allow herself to cry. No time for that. "I can't remember anything," she managed, and then the boy reached to wrap his arms around her and she pushed him away. She remembered nothing, she didn't know this boy. There was no way he was allowed physical contact yet. He seemed to understand, and nodded to her.

He led her through the vent and they came out in some odd room that had table on wheels and platters. A blond boy strolled in with a moving table and a tablecloth over top. She was already prepared to run when the boy lifted up the edge of the table cloth to reveal a shelf, hidden under the table. "Get on," he instructed quietly, and the other boy hoped on without hesitation. She followed, hefting her cast with her.

They were wheeled around, who knows where, until the tablecloth was lifted again and they hopped out. An empty corridor later, they were out. She shivered in the cool breeze of the morning as the boy grabbed her wrist and led her down an alleyway, to a secluded spot behind a building.

"Thank god," the blond boy breathed, shedding a hospital coat off and dropping it to the floor. "Nice to see you, Aliara."

Aliara? Was that her name?

It explained 'Ali'.

The younger boy pursed his lips. "Kurapika, she's-"

Kurapika was his name. Interesting.

Another male came running through- this time, an older-looking man in a suit. "They're out for my blood," he said cheerily. "I gave 'em a good run for their money!" He turned towards her, and she almost took a step back, but prevented it. "Hey, Ali! Good to see you're alright!"

Kurapika, the blond boy, rolled his eyes. "Leorio, her arm is broken and her shoulder is dislocated."

"So? She got away from the Phantom Troupe! How'd you manage that, by the way?"

She had no recollection of that. But the small boy had mentioned it too.

More footsteps. How many of these people were there? What did they want with her?

It was a boy, around the same height as her and the other one, with fluffy white hair and brilliant blue eyes. He was carrying a bundle in his arms. When he saw her, his face broke into a huge smile, and he jogged over to the group. "It worked. Ali, are you okay? How'd you get away?"

He reached for her, like he was going to hug her.

She shoved his hands away.

"I don't know you," she said fiercely, her voice cracking and her eyes brimming with tears.

She glanced at her, and the white-haired boy looked shattered.

"I don't remember any of you," she repeated. "I don't remember... remember anything."

* * *

 **havanatitiana:** Aha I love Feitan with a passion. Just a regular hospital... I like to think that due to the injury and the blood covering her face that she wasn't recognized by the staff that brought her in. Thanks for your review! :)

 **xenocannan:** You hope she's dead?! Oh my XD If I killed her off now, the story would be done way too soon. I've got too much left that I want to do. Thanks for your review! :)

 **IamAmazing326:** School's a mess indeed. Thanks for your review! :D

 **K1llua:** Aww, thank you so much! Your words make me smile! :D

 **Night Owl:** ANOTHER one of you wants her to die?! Geez, I can't do that! I'm not going to get halfway through developing her and just kill her off! (But that does seem like something I would do...) Thank you for your wonderful review! :)

 **Reading1Dragon:** Well, at least you don't want her to die. Some others do *coughcough* XD Aw, I loved your review. Thank you so much! :D

 **Guest:** Hisoka's insane, but hella fun to write, I must say. He's hard though- his character is really unpredictable. AWW I loved that! 'Your writing skills have set a bar and you destroyed it' made me so happy! That's so sweet of you! I've actually struggled with how Phinks should be related to the Lorvells, and that idea does seem very likely. I might use that, but I'm worried for backlash from reviewers. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEW! GOOD LUCK WITH SCHOOL! :) :D

 **yachiru-chan92:** Aw, thanks so much! :D :)

 **Here that?**

 **That's the sound of Killua's heart breaking into a million pieces.**

 **(And the sound of my evil cackling as I eagerly await your reviews)**


	36. Amnesia

**Chapter 36: Amnesia**

"She's got retrograde amnesia," Leorio declared firmly, sitting back in his seat in one of the lobbies of a large hotel.

Aliara- yes, that was her name after all- blinked.

"Explain," the blond boy, Kurapika, said softly.

Leorio, the man in the suit, had done a few quick tests, free of stress and pain. Apparently he was in school to be a doctor, so said Gon, the small fierce boy that had stayed glued to her side. Aliara didn't know what else to do other than trust him. "She can't remember anything from the past," he continued with a shrug. "She won't be able to recall things, like family and friends."

Killua, the white-haired boy who had seemed really upset to meet her, swallowed nervously. "Is there a cure?"

The doctor-ish man shook his head. "There's no cure for amnesia."

Aliara was already considered smacking her head off a wall or something. It couldn't get any worse, could it?

"But we can heal her mind," Leorio said determinedly, leaning forwards. "She can still get the memories back. It's not a complete lost cause." The group seemed to let out a collective sigh, but Aliara was just confused. Yes, she wanted her memories back, but could she trust them?

"How?" Gon asked patiently.

He tapped a pen on the desk in front of them. "Sometimes with amnesia victims, something may happen that could trigger something traumatic that they experienced before they lost their memory. Like if one man almost drowned as a child, lost his memories, then was submerged in water again, it could trigger the memory and others. Sometimes all you need is one crazy thing to turn the rest of the brain back on."

Aliara frowned. His analogy made sense, in a crazy way.

"What about her skills?" Killua added suddenly, almost making her jump. "Is she still as good as she used to be?"

Good? Good at what?

Leorio shrugged casually. "It depends. Stuff that's she grown up her whole life doing will be instinct to her, but she won't remember things like when she learned or who taught her. More recent skills and stuff like that might have to be relearned."

"We need to try," Gon insisted, glancing at Aliara with a fierce protectiveness in his eyes. "We need to try and get her memories back."

Without meaning to, the black-haired girl shifted a bit closer to Gon. He had this innocent, pure, determined aura about him that made him approachable and made Aliara feel safe. She wasn't sure what exactly it was about him.

"It can be dangerous, though," Leorio warned.

Killua snorted, and Aliara tried to look up but found she couldn't meet his gaze. "How could it be any more dangerous than what the current situation already is?"

"She could get some memories," the doctor snapped as he continued. "Partial memories are dangerous."

"How?" the white-haired boy countered, his face flushed.

"Imagine if she starts remembering her childhood," said Leorio, adjusting his glasses. "Imagine if she remembers how she grew up and suddenly wants to go home." Aliara narrowed her eyebrows- the word 'home' left a sick feeling in her gut. Where had she come from?

Killua's gaze instantly darkened.

"W- What's so bad about home?" she tried timidly, her voice cracking.

"You ran away," Kurapika said softly.

Aliara blinked, "why?"

Killua spoke up, his voice harsh and cold. "Your mother was rude and abusive and had your entire life planned out. She was going to marry you off and make you a tool for her own selfish desires."

"Married?" she squeaked out. "I'm supposed to get married?"

"We're not letting her go back," Killua snapped, turning to Leorio. "What if she gets her memories while she's already back there? And the bounty? We have to get her memories back."

Bounty? Marriage? What the hell?

The four boys started talking quickly and seriously among themselves, leaving no room for Aliara to intrude.

"Time out!" she managed, raising her voice as high as she could. "Who am I marrying? How old am I?"

They all looked at her with surprise.

"What?!" Aliara's cheeks flushed with sudden heat; the attention wasn't pleasant. "Can't I know how old I am?" she demanded.

A flicker of a smile flashed across Kurapika's face. "She's not gone," he said, his words not really intended for anyone to hear.

"Thirteen," Gon said with a smile.

Why was he smiling?!

What was so funny?!

"Who am I getting married to?" Aliara demanded, flustered beyond belief.

"You're not getting married to anyone," Kurapika said with a chuckle, "as long as you don't go back."

She sighed with relief. Marriage didn't even sound that fun to begin with. "Thank God."

"So what can we do to trigger memories?" Gon asked politely.

Leorio frowned, tapping the pen against the side of his glasses. "Depends. It could be something really stupid, like how someone high-fives her a certain way or something, or a huge traumatic thing that triggers flashbacks."

"I know!"

Aliara hadn't heard enthusiasm in Killua's voice since she'd seen him in that alley behind the hospital. The white-haired boy bounded out of his seat and took off down the hall, and the four watched him go until he returned quickly, holding something wrapped up in black cloth.

He set it down gingerly on the table. "Good idea, Killua," Gon breathed, leaning towards the table.

Aliara was interested. What was so special about this?

Killua unfolded it. It was a black hoodie and grey sweatpants. They looked around her size. What were... What...

Instinctively, Aliara reached for the hoodie and pulled it towards herself, hugging it to her chest. It was warm and familiar, and she had no idea why. Realizing that she was still wearing that weird hospital gown, she pulled the hoodie over top of the gown. It was warm and fuzzy and it made her smile.

"Is this mine?" she breathed.

"Yeah," Killua said breathlessly. It looked like he was trying really hard to contain his excitement. "Do you know what these are?"

He pulled out a pair of shoes.

Aliara blinked at them. They seemed normal, except they were an extra inch taller than normal runners. The tops were red and black and the black laces were undone and loose. Her bare feet suddenly felt so much colder and she wiggled her toes.

"It goes with this," Kurapika said quietly, passing her a small wristband.

All four of them were watching her carefully, looking for a flicker of something in her eyes. She didn't know, but Killua was watching carefully for the fire behind her eyes that always appeared whenever she got an idea or was talking about her inventions.

She hit a button on the wristband and spikes jutted out from the bottom of both of the shoes.

Her eyes lit up.

"This is so cool!" she gasped, smacking a different button and watching small wheels poke through the bottom. "Who made these? How'd they manage to configure the shoes so that all these little tools can fit inside?" Aliara hit another button and turned the shoes around, glaring at the bottom. "That's incredible, and being able to wire the wristband like that so it corresponds with both shoes? The creator's got to be an expert. Are these mine?"

"You could say that," Leorio said with a smile, but Aliara was too excited to figure out what that meant.

"Springs," Aliara said in awe, touching the pads with her finger. "What the heck! These can do just about anything! I can't believe this, these are incredible. Who made them?" she asked excitedly, turning eagerly to the four smiling faces and holding out the shoes.

Maybe it was her imagination, but Killua's smile was really sad. "You made them," he said, pushing them back into her hands.

Time slowed.

"I... I made these?" she said slowly, looking from Killua to the miracle inventions known as shoes.

They all nodded.

She shook her head slowly, pushing the shoes back to the table. "That's insane. I'm not... I couldn't possibly... I'm not good enough-"

How should she know what she can and can't do? She didn't remember anything.

Anything except...

Inferiority.

 _"You'll always be weaker than me, because you're younger! Duh!"_

Aliara blinked.

"I have older siblings?" she mused, like a question.

All four listeners snapped up and turned towards her. "What?" Kurapika asked sharply, echoed by Gon.

"I'm used to being not good enough," Aliara tried, going through any available memories in her brain and trying to make something click. "I'm used to feeling inferior. I... My older siblings. They said I'd always be weaker because I'm younger."

Killua was about to say something when Leorio interjected, "and how does that make you feel?"

What was this, a therapy session?"

"Angry," Aliara answered honestly. "Frustrated."

"What would you try to do?"

"Be the best I can so that I can beat them, in anything."

"What if it was beyond your physical capabilities?" Leorio pushed, thinking at a mile a minute. "What if it was something you really didn't have much control over?"

Aliara frowned. "There's always something. I'd try to find something I could do to help me in any way."

Leorio laughed loudly. Killua was grinning. "That's why you made these," he said proudly, pushing the shoes back towards her. "Because you weren't quite fast enough and you wanted a way to move faster."

"R- Really?"

"Really," Killua confirmed, and Aliara felt happy tears prick her eyes as she hugged the shoes close to her chest. The four boys seemed really excited and that made her very happy. It hadn't taken long to realize she was hurting them (unintentionally, of course) and she was going to try everything in her power to get her memory back.

"Aliara?" Kurapika said, tapping her shoulder. "We have something else of yours."

The blond boy handed her a set of gloves.

Intrigued, Aliara studied them carefully. If they were anything like the shoes, there had to be something special she had put in these. Maybe if she slipped them on... The black-haired girl pulled the left glove on, then the right as the boys watched with anticipation.

The right one had a bigger back than the left. What if...

There was a fly on the wall.

It was completely instinctive, but Aliara pulled her right hand up and curled her pointer finger to tap the bottom of the glove. A small cylinder rose out of the back of her hand with a tiny buzz, and she curled her pinky finger. The laser fired, burning a hole right through the poor fly on the wall and making a tiny burn mark in the wall.

"You know how to use them!" Gon exclaimed.

Aliara shook her head in bewilderment, staring at the gloves in awe as she tucked the laser back into its place. "I... I don't know how," she admitted, turning it over in her hands. "I just..." she trailed off, not sure what else she could say.

Leorio pumped a fist in the air. "This is progress!" he bellowed, laughing maniacally.

"Yes," Killua breathed, falling back in his chair.

Aliara beamed, clenching her hand into a fist in front of her face.

If she could make stuff like this, then maybe she was a pretty cool person after all.

* * *

 **Audley Moore:** Nothing wrong with a bunch of questions XD Thanks for your enthusiastic review! Yes, she doesn't really remember anything... but we'll see. :)

 **RedBurningDragon:** Yep, no kidding. Thanks for your review! :D

 **yachiru-chan92:** Amnesia, yikes. Thanks for your review! :D

 **Night Owl:** I didn't think that anyone would notice that! Nice catch. Worse than killing her, you say?! Mwahaha. I can do worse, I promise XD Thanks for your amusing and loving review! :)

 **F:** Aww, thank you! You made me smile! :)

 **Woofie-chan:** Aha, you made me laugh XD Thanks for your review! :)

 **CupcakeCupidity:** You binge read my story?! AAAAAA that makes me so happy! I love it when people tell me they've done that, it makes me so so happy :) :) :) Thank you so so much for your review!

 **Guest (1):** Yeah, I can't have her walk away without a scratch. And yessss, I was originally going to make it Killua but it sounded like something Gon would do and it worked out a lot better. Pulling at heartstrings?! Me?! I have no clue why you would even consider that! XD I loved the little dialogue you made, I've got ideas now. Thank you so so much for your wonderful review!

 **Guest (2):** Eventually?

 **AH GEEZ I'M A DAY LATE I'M SORRY**


	37. Memories

**Chapter 37: Memories**

They four spent a few minutes explaining what they'd done to get her out of there. They'd sat in the same very spot that they were sitting now- the hotel lobby couches- made a plan, and left. Apparently, last night there was a huge attack on the auction house (Aliara learned that Yorknew City was holding a humongous auction) and several of the attackers, who were Kurapika's sworn enemies, had died.

But that apparently didn't last long, because thirty seconds after Aliara was 'reunited' with her gloves, Kurapika got a text.

Aliara peered over his shoulder.

 _The corpses were fake._

The blond boy bolted up from his seat and marched off angrily towards another room, and the other three boys were quick to hop up and follow. Confused, Aliara toddled after them, clutching her shoes and gloves to her chest.

"What's with you all of a sudden?!" Leorio demanded. "Oi, I'm talking to you!" But Kurapika forged on, ignoring the doctor, which only served to agitate him more.

"Hisoka?" Killua said quietly after a second.

Kurapika nodded.

"The corpses were fake?" Aliara mused aloud, and Kurapika whirled on her, almost making her jump. "I read the text over your shoulder," she confessed bluntly, shrugging. "But who's Hisoka?"

"They were what?!" Gon cried out.

He shook his head, glaring at the phone in his hand. "One of them must have the power to do that."

"Like the guy we met in the Heaven's Tower!" Killua exclaimed, turning to Gon and herself.

She was about to interrupt when Gon nodded and said, "Kastro! He could make a duplicate of himself."

"Hold on a sec!" Aliara cried out. "Don't forget the amnesiac! What's going on?!"

They paused.

Killua snickered, and Gon burst into laughter. Aliara was half tempted to join in but she still didn't really understand what was going on. Leorio chuckled and rolled his eyes before saying, "Hisoka's sort of relaying information to Kurapika about the Phantom Troupe. The five corpses that were apparently accounted for were all fake. Hisoka's a creepy overpowered clown dude."

The black-haired girl nodded along slowly, trying to find a picture of Hisoka in her brain but coming back empty-handed. "Wait," she said slowly, "so what's so funny?"

The white-haired boy laughed again. "'Don't forget the amnesiac' was absolutely priceless!" His voice quieted, "and it's nice knowing you still have your old personality."

"And that're you're comfortable around us now," Gon added, popping in, smiling so wide that Aliara thought his face was going to split.

She grinned back. "Okay. _Okay._ What now?"

Kurapika was on the phone with someone else, a frustrated yet serious expression on his face. He hung up, glaring at the screen before tucking it away. "Hisoka?" Killua asked again.

He shook his head. "One of my work partners. The community has stopped pursuit of the Spiders, and the reward has been cancelled." Aliara pieced together in her head that 'Spiders' referred to the famous Phantom Troupe.

"What?!" the two boys cried out in unison.

"Oh no?" Aliara said questionably.

They stared at her for a second before conversing among themselves, and for once Aliara was happy to stay out of it. It was still a lot of information to process at once, and right now, this information seemed new to even Gon and Killua. She didn't want a part of that, not yet. Not unless it was going to help get her memories back.

Gon and Killua pulled her aside afterwards, and tried to explain things the best they could. "The Phantom Troupe had bounties on their head," the white-haired boy explained, shuffling his feet. "But the bounties were just cancelled. We were originally going to hunt them and get the bounties so we'd have enough money to buy something at the auction."

She nodded along, "how much were the bounties?"

"Two billion each," Gon replied.

Aliara's eyes widened. "Two billion?! Holy crap, that's a lot. I can see why you'd want to catch them."

The two boys exchanged a look that she couldn't identify, and it made her skin crawl. They knew something they weren't telling her- but, generally speaking, they knew a lot of somethings that she didn't know quite yet.

"We can still try to capture them, though," Gon said eagerly.

Killua and Aliara turned on him in unison, saying "why?!"

"Have you forgotten our primary objective?" Killua seethed, jabbing a finger at Gon angrily.

"Greed Island," the boy replied sheepishly.

So _that's_ what they were trying to buy at the auction.

"Exactly," Killua agreed, frowning. "And the Southern peace auctions begin the day after tomorrow. Don't you think we should be busy finding money?!"

Gon rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Actually, I have a secret plan."

"What's your secret plan?" Aliara asked eagerly.

He grinned. "It's a secret!"

"Don't play games with me!" Killua screeched angrily, locking Gon in a headlock as Aliara pounced on him, yelling, "I gathered that, you weirdo!" Gon wiggled his way out, beaming the entire time.

"Leave the game to me," he said confidently.

"Are you sure you really have a plan?" Killua said in exasperation.

Aliara frowned. This felt so familiar, but at the same time, so distant and far away. Their personalities were so fun to watch, and the friendship was obvious between them. Did they care about her that much? Was she a third wheel? What exactly happened?

Huh. When'd they stop talking?

But their mouths were still moving.

Why was everything so blurry?

Why was?...

Huh.

Aliara's eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she passed out.

* * *

There were three kids. Sitting on a large rock, looking up at the starry night sky, laying on their backs. That was funny, one of them looked like her.

 _"I'm happy when I'm with you guys."_

 _"You- You what?"_

 _"Don't say stuff like that so suddenly!"_

 _"You two are my first friends."_

 _"Same with me."_

 _"Same with me too."_

That's funny. She felt like that conversation had actually happened before...

The scene changed. The same three kids were walking through a forest, one marching ahead of the other two. The one that looked like her was the last one back.

 _"Hey, Killua- Do you... uh, you... actually not like spending time with me?"_

 _"What? Moron, of course not. I'm just teasing you. How could you be so stupid?"_

 _"How was I supposed to know, idiot?! You literally said you weren't happy around me!"_

 _"Well that's just stupid! You weren't supposed to take it like that!"_

 _"How was I supposed to take it, then? Moron!"_

 _"I'm always happy around you, idiot!"_

Then the scene faded to black again, and like a puzzle piece, Aliara felt something in her brain just... click.

* * *

"Ali! Ali, wake up!"

She blinked rapidly. Where was she? What just happened?...

"Ali? Are you okay?"

Things were focusing now. Two blurry faces were staring down at her, and she felt two warm arms under her back. She blinked again, and realized it was Gon and Killua, who both looked extremely worried.

She groaned, trying to pick herself up. "What..."

"You fainted," Gon said, his voice slightly rushed. "Killua caught you before you hit the floor, but you didn't hit your head or anything."

"My head," she said faintly, rubbing a hand against the side of her head. "I..."

Aliara blinked and looked up at Gon and Killua's worried faces.

"We were on a rock," she said slowly, watching their eyes widen. "We were laying down and looking at the stars." Aliara tried to think back, tried to remember every last little detail because she didn't want to forget anything. "And we were happy, and talking about friends."

Both boys looked shocked but Aliara forged on. "And- And then we were in the forest, and we were walking, and I was talking to Killua, and we were..." the memories faded, and she cursed. "Dammit!"

"You remember," Killua said in awe.

"Yeah," Aliara said slowly.

Like snowflakes, more things just started falling, filling her head with crazy memories and little oddball details. Just the way that Killua held her in his arms and the way they both looked at her in concern seemed to fill the empty part of her brain. "Ice cream," she stated clearly.

They both blinked.

"We go out for ice cream to celebrate things," she repeated, trying to clutch at the few things that were dwindling in her brain.

Killua's jaw slipped open, and Gon's dark eyes widened until they were almost the size of dinner plates.

"And- And... And we..." she bit her lip, trying to find something else. "And we... We..."

"Take a breath," Gon advised quietly.

Aliara exhaled, trying to calm herself. "Sunglasses."

Killua inhaled sharply, "say what?"

"Sunglasses," she repeated, not sure where the information was coming from but using it to her full advantage. "Sunglasses that had some sort of heat sensor or x-ray vision, sunglasses that connected to a tracking device."

"What about them?" Gon questioned quietly.

She had to stop herself from smacking herself in the forehead. "I... I don't know."

"Ali," Killua whispered, excitement creeping into his eyes, "that's incredible!"

"You're remembering a lot," Gon added, beaming, "and you're doing great!"

Her head was spinning, and she twisted- but she forgot she was in Killua's arms, and she rolled out onto the floor, smacking her awkward cast off the ground. She cursed again, waving her arm. "This cast is a pain."

"Is that all you remember?" Killua pushed, and he and Gon leaned forward eagerly.

Aliara swallowed nervously.

She remembered that night in the forest, walking through the trees, and the anxiety she felt thinking that Killua didn't actually like her at all. She remembered the intense sense of relief when he said he was just teasing her, and then the embarrassment when he said he was always happy around her.

Oh crap.

She didn't... _like_ Killua, did she?!

Holy crap-

"Y- Yes!" she squeaked, her cheeks flushed. "I don't- I don't really remember anything else!"

He cocked his head, his bright blue eyes filled with concern. His fluffy hair fell in front of his eyes and Aliara could tell why she liked him. "That's okay," he said patiently, putting a hand on her shoulder. "This is a huge step. We can talk to Leorio about it later."

Aliara's heart sped up.

Oh, she was screwed.

* * *

 **Night Owl:** Awwww thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed! :)

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 **Guest:** I LOVE YOUR REVIEWS! Yesss, Aliara's frickin adorable, I love her so much. And I can't wait for her to meet her mother... Yikes. I thought a fly was pretty harmless! I also wanted to show that she hasn't lost her killing intent (not that anyone could tell, it was literally just a tiny fly). THANK YOU SO SO MUCH! :D :D

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 **THANK YOU FOR 200 FOLLOWERS! I LOVE AND APPRECIATE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU! I never dreamed this story would be so popular and grow so much in such a short period of time. Thank you all so much! :)**


	38. Capture

**Chapter 38: Capture  
**

She hated being left out.

That was something she'd learned about herself in the last few minutes, because Killua, Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio all had a plan to deal with the Phantom Troupe and she wasn't involved. Well, it was for obvious reasons- but at the same time, it was very, very aggravating.

She felt entirely useless, and it was very frustrating- but when you had no memory and a shattered arm and shoulder, you weren't exactly a help. She'd taken off the black hoodie in exchange for a white sports shirt and felt a bit better, but at the same time, not at all.

"Stay at the hotel," Kurapika had said. "It's too dangerous for you to go out, especially with no memory."

"See if anything in your room will bring back your memory!" Gon had suggested helpfully, hugging her tight before he left. She'd stiffened up like a board until he let go.

Leorio had patted her on the head and said he may be able to get his hands on a thinner cast, which would be greatly appreciated.

Killua had been the strangest, but the sweetest.

"Can you take out your earrings?" he'd said randomly.

"Eh?"

"Please?"

Confused, Aliara raised her hand to her ear but realized that the cast really restricted her movement. "Not with this cast on, I can't," she grumbled, waving the thing around like a lethal weapon.

"Here," Killua murmured, stepping up to her. His hands fastened gently around her ear as he slid the earrings out and Aliara was getting goosebumps. "These are special earrings," he'd declared proudly. "You designed them yourself."

"I did?" Apparently she was quite the builder.

"Yeah," the white-haired boy continued, "and they've got a tracking device in them."

"So whoever wears the earrings can be tracked?" Aliara clarified. Killua nodded. "Tracked by what?"

He seemed to be prepared with an answer, because he was already talking before she finished her question. "There's a phone that you programmed that'll track the earrings." Killua whipped out a dark green flip phone that he eagerly flipped open and started showing her how to use, Her mind absorbed the instructions easily, which was funny, because she'd been having trouble remembering basic facts all day.

She took the phone from him, then frowned. "Who's going to wear the earrings? None of you have pierced ears."

Killua smirked. "I already thought of that. Here." He pushed the pocket on his jacket open and pinned the earrings to the inside of the pocket, invisible from view. "There. Now you'll know where we are."

"Okay," Aliara said. The truth was, she was really happy Killua had showed this to her. She felt a bit more involved. Killua handed her a walkie talkie, hugged her good bye, and then they were all gone.

That had been nice and all, but this sucked.

She'd tried exploring her room but it became clear very quickly that it was a huge mess and a lot to handle. She decided to rummage through drawers and came up with a sketchbook that made her smile as she flipped through the sketches.

Aliara came across a set of sunglasses.

She picked them up and frowned at them. She remembered mentioning sunglasses when her memories had flickered across her brain. Did she build these? Aliara frowned and slipped them on. Maybe x-ray vision?

Nothing. "Come on," she muttered angrily. There had to be _something_. Aliara felt along the sunglasses and found a switch, so she flipped it. Instantly, her vision changed. Everything was suddenly black, and she squeaked and flipped it back. Everything went back to normal.

"Let's try this again," she said aloud, flipping the small dial.

Everything went black. No x-ray, but-

There was an faded red outline moving from behind the wall. The shape resembled a human.

Aliara took them off. No one was there.

She shoved open the door to her room and peered into the hallway. A man in a tailored suit pushing a cart was walking away from her.

She shut the door again.

"No way!" Aliara cheered, putting the glasses back on and staring down at her feet. Sure enough, red. It was a heat sensor, even through walls. Thermovision! "This is so cool," she breathed, switching the dial back and forth. What else could these do?

Something clicked in her head.

She turned off the lights.

Oh, hell yes. She had night vision.

Everything was perfectly visible through the glasses, from the pile of screws on the floor in the corner to the slightly open drawer that her sketchbook had been jammed into. Aliara turned the lights back on and beamed. This was perfect.

The walkie talkie crackled and she jumped. _"Ali? You there?"_

She picked it up clumsily and flipped open the flip phone. "Yeah. What's up?"

 _"Kurapika hopped out of the car and they're giving chase. We've found six of them."_

Aliara's heart sped up. The red dot on the screen was cruising around town. "Are they okay?"

 _"No!"_ Leorio snapped back curtly. _"Kurapika's being reckless! Wait- I'll get back to you- one sec-"_

The walkie talkie shut off. Aliara sighed and glared at the red dot on the screen and it came to a halt. Then it turned and went the other way, at a much slower pace. Why would the dot go the other way? Unless...

 _"They've been captured,"_ Leorio said, his voice sudden. _"Gon and Killua. Kurapika's safe. They're not going to be harmed, it seems. But they're being lead away. We've got a plan."_

Aliara had already jumped up and ran for the spot that looked like a closet, pulling through things, looking for something black and long sleeved (it was a bit difficult with one working arm). Thankfully, she seemed to have a lot of black clothing. She realized Leorio was waiting for her and grabbed at the device. "What's the plan?"

 _"They're being taken to a hotel,"_ Leorio continued quickly. _"We're going to give them split second to get away by shutting the lights off at exactly seven. We've got connections. We're going to get them out of there."_

She tugged the long-sleeve hoodie over her head and grabbed her sunglasses, throwing them in her pocket and grabbing the gloves, slipping them on. "On my way," she replied, trying to slip her shoes on with only one working shoulder.

 _"WHAT?! No! Stay where you are! You have almost no memories, and it's too dangerous-"_

"They're my friends," Aliara snarled back, "I remember that much."

She jammed the walkie talkie in her pocket, opened the flip phone, and stormed out the door.

* * *

The hotel was closer than she anticipated, which was good.

To her surprise, she could run reasonably fast, and she didn't run out of energy very quickly at all, which was weird. She dodged the crowd nicely, and her footsteps were almost silent. Was she normally this quick?

Aliara shook her head, glancing at the blip. It was standing still in the same spot. The time at the top of the phone read 6:54. She had six minutes.

She had no clue what she was going to do, but it was going to be something.

* * *

Killua shuffled anxiously in his spot. The clock read 6:57, and thanks to Leorio's brilliant way of communication, both he and Gon knew that at 7:00, the lights would shut off and they'd get their one and only chance to escape. Only three of the Troupe were guarding them now- their leader, the pink-haired girl, and the girl with the glasses and the short black hair.

They were joined by Pakunoda, the memory-girl who was the objective of their mission, a short man with hair hanging in his face, and Nobunaga, the man with the sword that had held he and Gon captive until they had escaped. Killua swallowed. "You were caught again?!" Nobunaga called out excitedly. "You've finally changed your mind and want to join the Troupe?"

"The reward for the capture was cancelled, and we didn't know," Killua retorted, trying to calm himself. "That's all."

He felt Aliara's earrings press up against him from the zippered pocket on his chest. Would Aliara know they were captured?

"What's in your pocket?" the pink-haired girl holding him asked suddenly.

Killua nearly flinched. _How'd she know?_

Nobunaga pulled the pocket open and glanced in it before he chuckled. "Earrings? Do they belong to your little girlfriend?"

"Yes," he grumbled honestly.

The sword man laughed dryly, throwing his head back. "A shame she's dead, she was worth a lot of money."

Killua's head spun. _They think she's dead. So how the hell did she escape in the first place?_

The clock read 6:58.

"I don't even want to look at you guys anymore," Gon said firmly, squeezing his eyes shut. Killua understood immediately and did the same. When the lights went off, their eyes would already be well adjusted.

"What? Sad that your little girlfriend's dead?" There was a throaty chuckle from Nobunaga. "You'll have to clear that up with Hisoka."

 _Hisoka?! What did he do?!_

"Nobunaga," someone said calmly, "enough."

Killua had to restrain himself from lashing out right then and there.

 _She better be okay._

* * *

Aliara was creeping along in the rafters, which seemed like a good plan, but now she didn't really know what to do.

She was inching through the rafters above the hotel lobby, which were low and relatively easy to climb. She'd peeked through a window and seen Killua and Gon among six other people. A head on assault would kill her, especially since she didn't know what she could do. None of the people brought back any memories.

If she had escaped from them, they would probably recognize her, which was why she decided not to try the lobby.

Her laser on her glove was her best bet.

"Come on, come on," she breathed, trying to her best to be as silent as possible. They couldn't be allowed to sense her. They couldn't.

Then came a miracle- an area that had a slight crack in it.

Excitedly, Aliara pulled herself to the crack and peered through. She was a bit off, but almost directly above Killua and Gon and their enemies. She cheered in her head and clicked out the laser on her glove. Her cast went from about mid-bicep to the edge of her wrist, so she still slipped the glove on fine. Aliara carefully positioned the laser through the small gap.

 _"We're going to give them split second to get away by shutting the lights off at exactly seven."_

Those were Leorio's words.

Aliara slipped on her sunglasses and got ready.

Thirty three seconds later, the lights went off.

Killua's hands were freed and he snapped his arms out, effectively breaking the arm of the purple-suited lady who was holding him. Aliara looked carefully for an opening as Gon thrust his foot out, kicking the lady back.

She fired at the pink-haired girl as Killua kicked her, and the laser shot the girl through her shoulder. The red beam was quick, efficient, and gave off virtually no light. She grinned to herself and fired again, but missed.

Killua stabbed at the pink-haired girl and she managed to grab him. Gon was pulled away, and she fired a third time, striking the tall man with the ponytail through his arm. She would've hit his head but he managed to shift. The man jerked his arm away and Gon rolled across the floor, springing back up and planting his boot in the man's side. The man caught on and grabbed Gon's ankle.

They failed.

 _She_ failed.

Aliara cursed and took off through the rafters, as silent as a mouse. She didn't want those insanely skilled people coming after her.

She felt a pang in her chest. She should've done more.

She could've.

* * *

 **Happy:** I'm so glad, thank you so much for the compliment :)

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 **Guest:** You always always always make me smile, oh my goodness :) I want her to get her memories back, obviously, but it's going to take time. I gave her a couple just because I wanted her to realize that they had a very safe and steady friendship and that she could trust them, leading to her taking action in this chapter and in more to you're right- she's a bit lost on how to deal with a crush, especially now. Thank you so so much! :)

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 **Thank you so much for almost 33 000 views, you all make me so happy :)**


	39. Roof

**Chapter 39: Roof  
**

Aliara surprised herself by clambering out a window and immediately scaling the wall.

What surprised her even more was how well she did it.

Aliara hopped up ledges like a second nature, like she had been born to scale tall hotel buildings. The breeze whipped her hair into her face, but the breeze only got stronger the higher up she went. Her gloves made it easier for her to grip ledges as she went, and her shoes also had plenty of grip. She was flying up the side of the building, not even slipping once.

Her sunglasses were tucked in her pocket- they had served their use. Her heart felt heavy in her chest- she felt incredibly useless, but knew she'd be even worse off if she was caught. The ground wasn't an option- not doubt those insanely overpowered creeps could catch up to her in an instant. She couldn't hop in a car or anything; she wasn't quite comfortably around other people yet. So she climbed.

Everything outside made her head hurt. Cars, taxis, buses. Drivers, men in suits, women in fancy dresses. There were so many new things that just clicked in her brain.

She got distracted, and her toe slipped off one ledge.

For a third time, she surprised herself- her hands supported her body weight with little to no problem, allowing her to easily swing her feet back up.

 _I'm just full of surprises,_ she mused, pulling herself up.

She reached the top, breathing hard. The height hadn't bothered her at all on the way up- not once had she thought she was going to fall, which was weird, because that wasn't normal. Her black hair slapped her cheek, leaving a brief sting.

Aliara couldn't help but smile- it was so nice and refreshing up here, with no one around. And the view was gorgeous...

The view.

Little lights twinkling across her vision, people so tiny that they didn't look real.

The view-

Suddenly this wasn't comfortable anymore.

 _"It was nice knowing you, Lorvell."_

She felt like she was falling.

Falling-

 _"Such a pity I never got to see you ripen."_

Falling...

Choked...

Aliara's knees shook and she collapsed, scrambling back from the edge of the roof on all fours. Her breaths were shaky and her entire body was trembling. She pulled her knees up to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut.

Her head hurt. It felt like someone was squeezing her brain so tight it was going to explode.

 _"I wonder..."_

No-

 _"...how they would react if they saw their little girlfriend's bloody body."_

Her heart seized in her chest. She couldn't breathe- she couldn't _breathe-_

 _"Didn't I tell you not to run away?"_

Her chest felt way too tight, way too tight, and she felt like she was suffocating-

And she was crying, tears dripping down her cheeks-

 _"Ah, yes."_

 _No._

 _Stop, stop, stop, stop-_

 _"I can't_ wait _to see those wonderful expressions."_

 _Stopstopstopstopstop-_

She felt like her head was going to explode-

 _"How... thrilling."_

"Stop," she sobbed quietly to herself, choking on the words and just trying to gather herself again. "Stop."

 _"When they find your dead body, they'll be driven to hysterics."_

"Stop!" she cried out again.

 _I'm alive. I'm not dead._

Her head was pounding, her heart was pounding, the roof was going to collapse under her, everything was spinning-

 _"I can't wait~"_

Aliara pressed her fingers into the sides of her heading, letting loose and heart-wrenching scream that was followed by sobs. Tears were in full force now, dripping from her cheeks to her sweater. She was sobbing, trying to inhale but gasping for air.

It was over.

That was over.

She pulled her knees all the way up into her chest and wept into her knees, trying to get rid of the memories that she'd never wanted to know existed.

* * *

It took about four minutes until Aliara allowed herself to get up.

Her steps were slow and shaky, and well away from the edge of the roof. She glanced towards the edge and an image flashed across her mind, of a tall pale man in a clown suit with pink hair holding a black-haired girl by the neck over the edge. Aliara hissed through her teeth and banished the image from her head.

She knew who Hisoka was.

She knew he wanted to (and succeeded to) toss her off the top of a hotel roof.

But that was it.

That must've been what the nurse lady meant when she said that Ali's body was found on the pavement- because she fell. How did she dislocate her arm? Unless she tried to grab something.

"I'm safe," she repeated, the breeze whipping her hair around. "I'm safe. I'm safe."

 _No you're not-_

"I'm safe," she said once more.

If she had spent four minutes crying and breathing, she doubted any of the Phantom Troupe members were coming after her. She'd gotten away safely, and that was what mattered.

Something crackled in her pocket.

 _"Ali? You there?"_

Aliara's heart filled with relief, and her shaky hands gripped at the walkie talkie desperately. "L- Leorio?"

 _"Oh, thank God,"_ she heard him say in relief. _"I've been calling you for a while."_

Aliara blinked. She must've been too traumatized to actually pay attention.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

 _"Don't apologize, it's fine. What happened to you? Where are you now?"_

Her heart raced, "on top of the hotel roof."

 _"...What?"_

"I'll be fine, I can get down," she assured him, even though she really wasn't sure she had the mental capability to do that. "What happened to Killua and Gon?"

 _"You bought Kurapika a lot of time thanks to your laser thing, because they spent a while tracking you down through the hotel, even if you shouldn't have left the hotel in the first place."_ Aliara grinned- she hadn't been useless! _"We've kidnapped their leader, and we're going to use him to bargain for Gon and Killua."_

"So they're okay?"

 _"Yeah, they're fine."_

Her shoulders slumped in relief. That was good.

 _"Kurapika's handling negotiations with a coworker of his. I'll take you back to the hotel, let's meet by the fire hydrant near the front doors."_

Aliara nodded but realized that Leorio couldn't see her. "O- Okay."

 _"See you soon."_

The walkie talkie clicked off but the black-haired girl brought it back to her lips in a rush. "Leorio?"

 _"Yeah?"_ his voice crackled a few seconds later.

"On top of the roof," she started before taking a deep breath. "On- On top of the roof, something happened. In my head."

Leorio sounded much more alert. _"What?"_

"Memories, or something, I think," she said slowly, trying to exhale, "but it made me head hurt, and I panicked, and..." she took a deep breath, "and I couldn't breathe or move and I was really, really afraid."

That was off her chest. Aliara sighed.

 _"I'll stay around you tonight. We can talk it through. Okay?"_

She smiled.

"Okay."

* * *

Leorio met up with her and they drove back to the hotel. Aliara kept her knees tucked up to her chest, huddling the entire time. When they got back, Leorio went to her room with her and sat down in the armchair in the corner. Aliara sat on the bed.

"So what happened?" the black-haired man started. "Tell me anything. Every little thing matters. And you can say absolutely anything. I won't judge you at all."

She exhaled slowly, curling up in the blanket that was on her bed. "I was shooting at the Phantom Troupe, and I hit a few of them. Then they adjusted to the darkness. I figured that they would probably come after me so I went out a window and scaled the building."

"What made you want to climb the hotel?" Leorio inquired quietly.

Aliara shrugged. "Running probably wouldn't have gotten me anywhere. And it was kind of fun."

He chuckled. "All right. Continue."

"I got to the top," she pressed on, "and it was really windy, but for some reason I liked the wind. And then..."

Her voice trailed off.

Leorio waited patiently.

"And then I looked at the edge of the roof and then a voice started talking in my head," she blurted out, the words rushing forward like a burst dam. "And he was talking about how he was going to drop me off the building and how they would be in hysterics after seeing my body and how it was a pity that he wouldn't see me ripen- whatever that meant- and how... and..."

Thankfully, Leorio hadn't interrupted. "Do you remember what was happening at that time?"

Aliara gulped. "I... Hisoka. He was strangling me and holding me off the edge of the roof."

Leorio's eyebrows shot to the top of his head. "He did WHAT?!"

"And I fell," she said slowly, "which is how this happened." Aliara held up her cast-clad arm.

The doctor exhaled slowly and leaned back. "So that's why you were in the hospital. Because Hisoka dropped you off a roof."

She shrugged. "I think so."

"Alright. We can connect puzzle pieces. Is Hisoka who you meant when you said a voice in your head?"

"Yeah... Yes. Yes, I'm sure of it."

"And what happened after?"

Aliara bit her tongue. She felt ashamed- she'd cried and whimpered and panicked for four or five minutes. How lame was that? "...I panicked," she started, breathing slowly, "and I was shaking a lot, and my chest really hurt, and I just kind of lay on the roof for a while trying to calm down."

Leorio nodded slowly. "It sounds like you may have had some form of a panic attack. Nothing to be ashamed of, especially in your condition."

"I just want my memories back," she complained, huffing.

"You'll get them," Leorio insisted firmly.

She smiled softly. It was nice to have someone just sit and listen, to let her rant and to not ask her stupid questions.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

Leorio grinned cheekily. "Anytime. Now, let's check on that arm, shall we?"

So they did.

He tried to send her to bed afterwards, but she insisted on staying up until Gon and Killua were back safely, and there was no way she was backing down. So instead, they made hot chocolate, and sat down in the lobby, working on the cast, joking around, and waiting for the two boys and Kurapika to return.

Aliara found herself relaxing for the first time since she woke up with no memories.

* * *

 **Night Owl:** Hmm, maybe... Thank you for your review! :)

 **Reading1Dragon/Guest:** Thank you! Thanks for your review! :)

 **The Otaku Lady Priya:** Aha, I do love my plot twists. I'm so glad you love her name! It was honestly the hardest part about starting the story, and I wasn't even satisfied with it when I started, but the nickname came up and I'm pretty happy with it now. Thank you so so much for your review! :D (Kurapika is a beautiful human who deserves the world T^T)

 **Awesomeness3013:** That's such a good idea, I can't believe I've never considered it. Thank you SO much for that idea... I'm going to have to use it soon. Thanks for your review! :)

 **Leorio is SO underrated.**


	40. Training

**Chapter 40: Training  
**

Killua and Gon returned safe after a few more hours.

She'd greeted them both with hugs, which had felt achingly familiar. But the best thing ever was Kurapika, who wrapped his chain around her casted arm. In a blink, the bones were healed, and her shoulder was popped back in place. It was immediate relief, and she wondered why he hadn't done it earlier- turns out, he needed to be in 'Emperor Mode' to do something like that. Then, Kurapika had collapsed with a fever, and Leorio promised to check up on him so the three kids could sleep. Aliara's head hit the pillow, and she was out like a light.

The next day was mind-boggling.

Killua and Gon were eager to introduce her to something called 'nen' which was supposed to give her a lot of power. They tried explaining it but it just confused her brain, so they promised that later they would show her.

"For our plan to work," Gon said firmly, "you need to get your nen back."

"Plan," Aliara repeated.

Killua nodded. "To get into Greed Island, the game that might have a clue to wear Ging is. Gon's father."

She nodded along; they'd already told her this. It was a nice refresher, though.

The white-haired boy smacked a fist into his palm. "Training time!"

"Training?" Aliara said slowly.

Gon grinned. "More like re-training. You're really skilled and an incredible fighter, and we just need to get you to remember that."

Her mouth split into a grin. "I'm skilled?"

Both the boys nodded.

"Sweet!" she breathed, clenching her fists. Her recently-broken arm felt brand new as she swung her arm up in an imaginary punch.

"Alright," Killua said, tossing his sweater off him and onto the couch in the spacious room. He had a white tank top and navy blue shorts on, and he went barefoot. "Fight me."

"Do what now?"

"Fight me!" he repeated, grinning, as Gon backed off to the side. "Don't worry, I'll only defend, I won't hit you back. I just want to see if you can get back into the swing of things." He hopped from foot to foot, evidently warming up.

She swallowed. "O- Okay. I'll try."

Aliara shrugged off her black hoodie, only wearing grey sweat pants and a tight black sports tank top. She huffed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes, and instinctively held up her fists. Killua did the same, bending his knees slightly. Aliara copied him, looking for any openings.

"I don't really know what to do," she confessed, leaning back and forth from one leg to the other.

Killua rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll attack you then."

"Wait-"

Killua's fist shot out in a punch and all her instincts screamed at her to duck. She did, leaning forwards at the same time, and her fist narrowly missed Killua's gut- he twisted out of the way just in time. Instincts screamed at her again and she twisted, bringing her arms in front of her face, just in time to block Killua's elbow. Her arms stung, but surprisingly, it didn't bother her that much.

"Nice one!" he called out, kicking at her. Aliara blocked with her arm and swung up with her back leg, her kick higher than she ever would've imagined. Killua ducked and rushed towards her, overwhelming her instantly, and she tumbled to the ground, falling on her rear.

"Sorry," Killua said quickly, leaning over her, holding out his hand. "Are you okay?"

Her heart danced in her chest as she managed out, "Y- yeah. That was fun."

"It was," Killua agreed. "Want to try again?"

Did she ever.

* * *

That entire day was dedicated to warming up her muscle and her physical skills.

And it was _so_ much fun.

Aliara realized that she was actually really good: endurance, combat, running, strength, and she was really good at them all. So were Killua and Gon, which made her feel bad- because they were the ones she was comparing herself to- until they assured her that they were all quite skilled, especially for their age. They were only thirteen- she couldn't believe it.

Regardless, Killua and Gon were showing her more than she initially thought she could handle. But it seemed to unlock a section of her brain, because every move came back like she'd never forgot it in the first place.

It was around six o'clock at night, Gon was off visiting Kurapika, and she and Killua were sparring again, for the umpteenth time. Aliara had sweat running down the back of her neck and her forehead, because Killua never let up for a second. He swung, she ducked and kicked, he blocked, and their movements just flurried together.

Suddenly, she got lucky. He twisted just the right way, and a move came back to her. Spinning, she moved so her back was towards him, crouched, and whipped him over her shoulder in some sort of judo throw that Killua'd thrown on her some time earlier. He fell on his back, and Aliara planted a knee on his chest.

"Gotcha," she gasped out, panting in exhaustion.

Killua rolled his eyes. "I let you do that."

She rolled her eyes right back. "Sure you did." But she backed up, collapsing to the ground. Killua just stayed where he was, on his back, breathing.

They both sat in comfortable silence for a minute before Killua pulled himself up to a seated position. "Can I tell you something?" he said quietly.

Aliara's heart threatened to leap out of her throat. "S- Sure."

"Well," he said with a sigh, "it's something really important about your past. But I just haven't told you because I- I was worried some memories would come back and you'd..." he trailed off, avoiding her eyes.

"After I'd do what?" she pushed softly.

"You'd leave us," he said simply, seemingly very interested in his shoes. "Or you'd go back to your family."

"But I ran away, didn't I?" Aliara said, confused. "Why would I go back?"

He huffed, "I don't know. Maybe I'm just paranoid. Anyways."

"Anyways," she repeated eagerly, leaning forwards.

Killua's blue eyes rolled up to look at the ceiling intently, before they slowly drifted down to meet her. His eyes looked kind of sad, kind of wistful. Like he wanted something that was just out of his reach or something weird like that.

"Do you remember what assassins are?"

Aliara nodded. The amnesia had impaired her memories, but not her knowledge. Like she knew what assassins were, but couldn't recount any famous ones or anything like that. "Yeah."

"I'm an assassin," Killua said slowly. "Well, I was. I ran away from home too, because I didn't want to be an assassin anymore."

She nodded along. "What does that have to do with me?"

"You're an assassin too," Killua said immediately, "and you ran away from home because you were being treated cruelly." Before she could process any of that, Killua surged on. "You lived in a mansion and your mother was going to marry you off to get money from other rich suitors, and you were trained as an assassin as a thing on the side, so you and your siblings were supposed to go on missions and bring in more money. Your mother is obsessed with money."

Aliara tried to say something.

 _"I am NOT your daughter."_

The same thing that happened on the roof. Memories reeled through her head and she started feeling dizzy.

 _"You are not leaving, because I will not allow you to tarnish the family name and reveal all our secrets like you tried to do when you escaped!"_

Killua tried to say more, but all she could hear was a harsh voice that she instantly knew was her mother's playing over and over again in her head, making her wince every time.

 _"You are my daughter! You don't have a choice!"_

Killua's hands grabbed her shoulders, but she barely felt it over the overwhelming wave of panic that she was trying to stifle.

 _"You will stay here for the rest of your life and do exactly as I say!"_

"No!" she yelled, her hands flying to the sides of her head. "No, I won't!"

 _"You were born here, and you will stay here."_

She shook her head frantically, Killua's voice now just a dull murmur in the background. This was it, another panic attack. Her chest was tightening, and it felt like her rib cage was constricting. She couldn't breathe.

 _"And you, Zoldyck, are just a tool she's using to get out of here."_

"No," Aliara sobbed, tears pricking her eyes. "No, he's not. No."

 _"She's using you, because that is how she was raised, that is her nature."_

"I'm not, I'm not, I promise," she whispered over and over.

Things seemed to clear up. She could feel Killua's hands on her shoulders now, and things were blurring back into sight. Her brain had stopped spinning. Killua's voice was suddenly audible, and she started breathing clearly again.

"Ali? Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

His bright eyes were so filled with concern that it made Aliara want to break down again. Tears were already pricked in the corners of her eyes, and she reached out and grabbed Killua's shoulders. "I'm not using you."

"You what?" he said, confused.

"You're not a tool," she explained frantically, her words not making sense to anyone but her. "She's wrong. She's wrong, I'm not using you to get away from her. I want to be with you guys, I don't want to go back."

Killua exhaled slowly, and he finally started to understand what was going on. She had a flashback to when she was leaving the mansion, and her mother was screaming at her and Killua. Behind her crazed eyes, the white-haired boy saw fear and a whole lot of confusion.

"No," he said clearly, "you're not."

Aliara blinked furiously, trying to prevent the waterworks, and Killua pulled her into his chest. She was shaking.

Was she ever going to be completely back to normal?

He hoped so.

* * *

 **Night Owl:** Leorio is such a good character, honestly. I'm so glad you enjoyed that! Thank you so much! :)

 **Reading1Dragon:** Yeah, I really don't envy her right now. (Except for the fact she's in Killua's arms...) Thank you so so much! :D

 **The Otaku Lady Priya:** I wish I could help you, but I'm just as conflicted as you are. I love Killua to bits and pieces, but rereading Kurapika's arc makes me fall for him again, agh. But Killua will always be number one in my heart :) Thanks for your review! :) :)

 **IAmAmazing326:** Aww, thank you so much! :D :)

 **bunnyxstar:** Honestly, I hope so too. I wish I didn't like watching my characters suffer so much. XD Thanks for your review! :)

 **RedBurningDragon:** I think Hisoka's level is more than we could ever dream of... Thanks for your review! :)


	41. Phinks

**Chapter** **41: Phinks  
**

"...Hello?" Aliara said nervously, the phone clenched next to her ear in a death grip.

 _"Hello, Ali. Nice to hear from you again."_

She swallowed nervously, glancing to Gon and Killua, who nodded encouragingly. Apparently, she was on the phone with Wing- a man who could teach anyone nen, which was some crazy power that comes from her life force- and he was supposed to help her figure out what to do. It was only the day after their 'training' session; she was still very confused.

Why the hell hadn't those two idiots explained the situation first?

"What can I do for you?"

Aliara blurted out, "I don't remember anything."

There was a pause. _"Say again?"_

"I got dropped off a building, hit my head, and I have amnesia," Aliara said quickly, rushing everything out as Killua and Gon nodded encouragingly. "I didn't remember anything, only my nickname, not even my full name. Killua and Gon helped get me out of the hospital and it took me a while to trust them, but I've been having a few flashbacks and we're good now. I've been training with them again and trying to figure out who I am. You're supposed to help me get my nen, whatever that is, back." She paused, satisfied with what she said, and waited for a response.

It took a second before Wing sighed, _"sounds like you've been through quite the ordeal."_

"Duh," Aliara said under her breath.

 _"But you want to know how to use nen?"_ Wing said patiently.

She nodded, then realized Wing couldn't see her. "Yes, I need to keep up with Gon and Killua."

There was a soft chuckle as Wing said, _"still as competitive as ever. But I don't see any problem."_ Aliara was about to object when he forged on. _"You already know it. It's just a matter of remembering it."_

"Well, I don't," she snapped, her patience wearing thin. "And I just want to figure out what..."

 _"Nen is the ability to freely manipulate vital energy, also known as aura, that comes out of the body."_

That was Wing speaking. But not presently- a flashback.

 _"I think that's the sign of a Specialist."_

"Wing," she said immediately, interrupting whatever he was talking about, "what's a specialist?"

He quipped, _"you know what that is?"_

"I just remembered," she said excitedly, "while you were talking about whatever. Sorry, I think I spaced out- it happens sometimes when I remember things."

Wing sighed at her rudeness but said, _"there are a few nen types, and specialist is one of them. Specialists are something completely unique from the others. You can probably ask Gon or Killua to explain."_

Aliara nodded, determined. "So how can I use nen?"

 _"Ask Gon or Killua to activate their nen and tap you with it. It should reawaken your aura. They can explain the rest. As for what you can use it with?"_ Wing chuckled. _"When you found out you were a specialist, you were incredibly disappointed. But you called me later, and we started talking about fire. Does that help?"_

"No," Aliara said obviously. "But I'll try."

 _"Good. Call me when you've figured out some more, okay?"_

She nodded. "I will." She was about to hang up when something clicked in her head. "Say hi to Zushi for me."

Wing laughed. _"You remember more than I thought."_

He hung up.

Aliara grinned, staring at the phone until she set it down on the table.

"So?" Gon said eagerly.

She turned to the boys, smiling. "You've got a lot to tell me."

* * *

Nen was really freaking cool.

She stared in wonder at the large amount of soft white energy that was floating around her hands, arms, chest, and then moving down towards the rest of her body. Killua and Gon spent the rest of the morning showing her how to surround her body with it, how to conceal it, how to focus it directly in her eyes so she could see the energy of other people. Aliara, surprisingly, had more fun than she bargained for- she'd expected it to be rigorous training or something like that, but like everything else, she'd picked it up very easily.

"For our plan," Gon said eagerly, "we may need to show how much we know about nen."

Aliara gulped.

"It won't be bad," Killua assured her, "we'll be right next to you! That is, if you're willing to go."

She nodded slowly, frowning. "What exactly are we going to, and what do I have to do?"

"It's the auction," Gon said quickly, flipping open an auction book. "We realized we'll never get enough for the game we want. So we're thinking of applying to play in the game. It'll have the same outcome, but now we need to try and get a spot to play in the game."

"A spot?" she said slowly.

He nodded, "there's someone who owns a lot of copies of the games. He looks for worthy hunters who know nen to try and complete the game."

"Hunters?" Aliara asked in confusion.

Realizing she didn't understand, Killua shook his head, trying to clarify. "Never mind, don't worry about that. You just need to know that we're going to try and get a spot in the game." She'd have to ask what hunters were later, because it didn't sound like they were your standard animal hunters or something.

"Is it going to be a lot of kids?"

"No, probably not," the dark-haired boy said with a shrug. "Mostly adults, probably."

"Will we stand out?" she asked quietly.

Killua frowned. "Maybe a little. It just means we'll have to show we're as powerful as the big guys."

"We're going to disguise you a bit too," Gon added.

Aliara blinked rapidly, trying to understand what possible intentions this mischievous little boy could have. "Why?"

Gon turned to Killua. "She doesn't know about?..."

The white-haired boy shook his head.

"Doesn't know what?" Aliara demanded, crossing her arms.

They both paused.

"Doesn't know what?!" she insisted, her voice rising.

Gon took a deep breath. "You've got a bounty."

She blinked. "A what?"

"Remember how I told you that you come from a rich family?" Killua said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Aliara felt chills up her spine. "Well, they kind of want you back. So your mother offered a lot of money for anyone that can capture you and bring you back."

Aliara let this information settle. She wanted to burst out laughing- she didn't understand why she was so valuable. Instead, she swallowed her humour and managed to nod. "Okay. What do I have to wear?"

Killua's face broke into a smile. "So you'll go?"

"Obviously," Aliara said, rolling her eyes. "I'd just bore myself to death sitting here all night."

Excitedly, the two boys both lunged at Aliara, and she fell over, laughing. The warmth made her heart swell, and she eagerly hugged them both back. She just hoped that nothing that night would go wrong.

* * *

The dress made her uncomfortable but felt easy and natural to wear, which was weird.

Her dress was a brilliant shade of scarlet that drifted close to the floor and had long silky straps that wrapped around her arms and biceps. The boys said she'd worn it before, but no memories came up. She'd slipped on blue contacts that Leorio had given her, and the doctor had helped pin her bangs back. She smiled at the mirror.

This was weird.

She decided she didn't like dresses.

Nevertheless, she hopped in that car with Killua, Gon, and a tall man named Zepile who seemed rather surprised when she didn't recognize him. Aliara didn't know what significance he had in her life, but it must not have been anything note worthy, because neither Killua nor Gon brought up anything about him.

She fidgeted the entire way there, she shifted nervously when they got their numbered tags, she nearly passed out when she saw the size of the auditorium and how many people were there.

"Wow!" Gon said excitedly.

"It's a good thing we dressed up," Killua said, nodding at everyone around them. Both the boys looked great in black suits with adorable bow ties, but only Killua was making her heart flutter. Frustrated and nervous beyond belief, Aliara slowly trailed after the boys, relieved that all the other ladies here were wearing equally, if not more, fancy.

Looking for seats, they ventured down the aisle, Killua glancing left and right for a set of empty seats. Aliara noticed how much attention they were attracting and shuffled closer to Killua, cheeks burning.

"Oh."

"Hm?"

Aliara looked up to see Killua and Gon staring at a pair of men, both in fancy tuxedos. One had shaggy black hair, narrow eyes, and a pale face, while the other had a permanent scowl to go along with his blond hair.

 _Did they recognize each other?_

"You're supposed to be dead!" the blond man hissed through his teeth, glaring at her angrily and starting to stand.

Killua seized her by the arm and she took the hint- they bolted. She thanked herself for wearing her runners rather than heels, because how are you supposed to run in heels? She was surprised at how fast Gon and Killua were, but even more so with how she matched up with them easily. They dashed by everyone and hurled themselves down a hallway.

To her surprise, the pair that they had run from were already there, one blocking the route they had come from and the other blocking the path they were heading down.

"Bitch," the blond man snarled, stalking towards her. "Hisoka said you were dead! How're you-"

Aliara felt fear coursing through her brain and she was about to break down when Gon stepped in front of her. "Hold it!"

Killua grabbed her arm, reminding her that he was still there. "Wait-"

"We have no intentions of killing you," the man with the black hair said casually. "We don't have anymore reason to pursue the chain guy."

"Yeah, but this brat here needs to get what's coming to her," the blond man snapped, stepping forwards again.

Killua and Gon shouted out again, but their words were drowned out by Aliara. "I don't know who the hell you are," she snapped, surprised at the energy that fueled your voice, "or what I've done to you, but can you please explain?!"

This stopped the blond man in his tracks. "What?"

"Phinks-" the black-haired man started.

"She has amnesia," Gon stated firmly, standing between Phinks and Aliara. "She doesn't remember almost anything."

Phinks looked dumbfounded. "You're kidding."

The dejected look in their eyes must've shown that the two boys really weren't kidding. Aliara swallowed. "I'm sorry," she whispered quietly, clenching her fists. She wanted to fling herself onto Killua and just hide behind him until this was all over, but she couldn't do that. "I'm sorry I don't remember much. I didn't remember anything at all when I woke up. I- We've been trying really hard to get my memories back the last few days."

"It's been three days since the night we left you with Hisoka," Phinks stated plainly, "so three days that you've had amnesia. But you trust them?" He jerked his chin towards Gon and Killua.

"I told you," the black-haired girl snapped angrily, fueled by her rage, "my memories are coming back!"

"But three days," Phinks said slowly, shaking his head.

She bit her lip. "Why do you want me dead so bad?" she tried, remembering his initial reaction.

"That's none of your business," he snapped back.

Killua's grip on her arm tightened as she shot back, "I think it's quite the contrary!"

"You Lorvells are all the same!" Phinks barked, glaring heavily at the trio, but mostly her. "You all think that money and your fancy words can get you out of any problem, that you're so much better than the rest of the world. The world is made to do your fucking bidding and that's the way it'll always be."

Aliara felt like he'd slapped her in the face.

"Lorvell?" she whispered, the name strange on her tongue.

"That's your last name," Killua whispered back. "That's the family you come from."

She tried to tell him something, assure him that she didn't know who he was talking about, or apologize for whoever in her family had hurt him. But her tongue dried up in her throat. What the hell could she say that would change his feelings? Nothing, and she knew it.

"I'm sorry," she croaked out, the tears pricking her contact lenses. She forced the tears away. "I have no idea what I've done to you, or what I could do for you. So all I've got is an apology. You either take it or leave it."

Phinks looked perplexed. He doubted her amnesia before, but now he could really tell- only a few days ago, when they had captured her, she was stubborn, sassy, and reckless. Now? She was trying keep herself from falling apart. He shook his head.

"We've got nothing to do with any of you anymore," he said firmly. He and the black-haired man turned to walk away.

She glared heavily at him. Phinks noticed that she was gripping the white-haired boy's hand like a lifeline.

"Hey, girlie?" he called over his shoulder.

Aliara stiffened- she didn't like that nickname. "What?"

"Tell your little sister, Kirika, that her dad says hi."

He marched away, fuming angrily, but Aliara was just more confused and frustrated than before.

* * *

 **IAmAmazing326:** Thank you! :)

 **Night Owl:** AWWW I'M SO GLAD YOU ENJOYED! :D :D THANK YOU!

 **RedBurningDragon:** Oh ho, you'll have to wait and see :) Thanks for your review! :D

 **The Otaku Lady Priya:** I've been trying to write a chapter from Killua's point of view but it's so incredibly difficult! I can't write his feelings properly! Ugh my poor child :( Thank you so so much for your review! I love hearing from you! :)

 **Awesomeness3013:** Ugh I love Killua so so much XD Thank you for your review! :)

 **Reading1Dragon:** Thank you! :)

 **Yozora531:** I'm so glad you're enjoying it! Thank you so much! :) :)

 **Rawr-kun:** AGH that made me so happy! Thank you so much, I've been trying to make appropriate plot twists and not let Aliara disrupt the entire story. Thank you so so much! :D

 **EARLY CHAPTER CUZ I'M AWAY ALL WEEKEND WOOT WOOT**

 **300 REVIEWS?! CAN WE MAKE IT?!**

 **I love you all so so much! :)**


	42. Explanations

**Chapter** **42: Explanations  
**

"What?" Aliara said aloud to no one in particular, her brain trying to make sense of the words and string them together. _Little sister. Kirika. Dad._

That didn't make sense. She didn't know anyone named Kirika.

...Or did she?

"Hold it," she said quietly, glaring at Phinks' back as he left with his companion. "Hold it!" Aliara tried again, marching after him angrily.

"Ali!" Killua's hand latched firmly onto her wrist. "It's okay!"

Her face flamed and she pulled her wrist away. "No, it's not! Phinks, you sorry bastard, get back here!" Aliara sped up, furiously speed-walking after him. He seemed bent on ignoring her, which only served to infuriate her. Aliara ignored the stupidity of the words that just came out of her mouth.

"You... what?" Gon said slowly.

Killua shook his head, flabbergasted.

"Go away, girlie," Phinks called over his shoulder.

"You can't drop a bomb like that and expect me not to have questions!" she retorted fiercely. She grabbed at the back of his arm, but he twisted effortlessly. Frowning, Aliara pushed a bit of speed into her step and leaped at the wall, rebounding off of the side of the corridor and landing squarely in front of Phinks and the black-haired man.

They both drew back, frowning at her. Surprise laced Phinks' expression as he said, "Kid-"

"Do you mean to tell me," Aliara fumed, jabbing a finger accusingly at his chest, "that you're my... you're... my little sister's father?! My-"

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Phinks snarled, eager to move on from the conversation. "Go-"

Aliara planted her feet and crossed her arms, glaring down the taller man, every inch of nerves that she had been feeling a minute ago were just forgotten. "I want an explanation," she demanded, her gaze never wavering, "and I'd prefer it sooner rather than later."

There was a pause, where the black-haired girl was sure that Phinks' gaze was going to burn a hole right through her.

"I didn't know she was a Lorvell when I met her," the blond man growled after a long silence. The black-haired man standing next to him regarded the situation with what looked like amusement- she couldn't really tell. "Only afterwards, when she basically dropped me like a discarded toy and told me not to contact her ever again."

Aliara's witty comeback died in her throat as Phinks continued. "I found out she was having a kid through a couple of people on the inside. I infiltrated the mansion and we had a wonderful conversation, where I realized the kid was mine. I nearly killed your mother in rage from that filthy nonsense she spewed out of her mouth, but reinforcements arrived."

He finished off quietly, "I found out it was a girl, and her name was Kirika. I've never met her."

"Oh," she said, her voice a hushed whisper. What else was she supposed to say?

"Will you move now?" Phinks said sarcastically, sounding bored. "Will you permit us to leave?"

Wordlessly, Aliara stepped aside. The two men strode through, uncaring; Phinks looked frustrated and ready to leave. Aliara's head buzzed- there was a puzzle piece that was trying to click. She bit her lip.

"She's blonde!" she called out suddenly, causing Phinks to turn around.

"What?"

"She's blonde," Aliara repeated, a picture of Kirika swimming into her mind. Desperate to grab onto every last memory of it, she began speaking like an auctioneer- which is to say, fast. "She's got straight blonde hair that she always wants to cut but she's too afraid to ask our mother if she'll allow it," Aliara said quickly, "because when I cut my own hair after my mother said no, I got in a lot of trouble."

Phinks stared at her, his face masked of emotion. "She's a sweetheart," Aliara forged on. "She'd never hurt a fly. She's incredibly flexible and agile, loves gymnastics, and can play almost any instrument you give to her. And she's tiny. Like, really short.

"Green eyes," she recalled, thinking hard. "She's got the same green eyes as me but they're soft, not cold and calculating like our mother's. Mother's are hard and angry, her are kind and careful."

She exhaled, out of breath, nothing else coming to mind. The pictures in her head faded out. "I'm sorry, but that's all I remember."

He accepted this information with a crisp nod. "That's why I hated you so much."

Aliara looked up, "Huh?"

"You've got the same eyes as your mother," Phinks snapped, but without malice behind his words. His voice softened slightly- only slightly- as he asked, "but you said her eyes were kind, right?"

"Y- Yes. They are," she managed.

"Good."

And then they left. That was the last Aliara saw of Phinks, the back of his blond head as she wondered what kind of a woman her mother was.

* * *

Aliara numbly followed Killua and Gon through the rest of the night, letting herself be dragged by the wrist down to the seats. She wasn't even listening to the auction anymore; her mind was wandering other places.

Kirika. How many other siblings did she have? She remembered having a few.

The worst part was, if one of her siblings ever showed up, she probably wouldn't recognize them.

She watched with a blank expression on her face as the lady at the front brought out Greed Island, describing the game that apparently required nen and its many features and functions. She didn't even notice when Gon bid by accident to bring the price up to 24 billion, or when the final total price ended up being 30.5 billion. Her mind only drifted to reality when Killua and Gon stood up.

"Come on," Gon urged, helping Aliara out of her seat. "Let's go."

She nodded along, walking after them. Killua's hand found her shoulder and he murmured, "are you okay?"

Aliara gulped and managed, "Y- Yes. I'm okay."

"Alright. Because we need you to be focused if we all want to make it into this game," Killua said, squeezing her shoulder once and letting go. He smiled softly at her. "Just remember what we worked on and you'll be okay."

She nodded slowly. "What if they ask us to show off our nen?"

Killua shrugged casually. "We'll do exactly what we practiced. You inhale, summon your nen, exhale, and let as much of your energy out as possible."

Aliara narrowed her eyes in determination as she tried to pull her brain out of its la-la land and back down to reality. She was going to go with Gon and Killua, no matter what. She had to keep up with them.

Gon led them into a smaller room, where the man who had won the Greed Island game was talking with a few other men in fancy black suits.

"Excuse us," the black-haired boy interrupted politely. "We're hunters, and we'd like to try and complete the game."

 _We are?_ Aliara wondered. _What the hell are hunters anyways?_

A few of the men stood up. "Brats," one of them scowled. "Mr. Battera is busy, he doesn't have time to play around."

"This isn't a joke," Killua insisted. "We really are professional hunters."

The man who had called them brats backed off, grumbling. Aliara huffed angrily. She decided she didn't like people who wouldn't them seriously just because they were kids. She clenched her fists anxiously, choosing to remain silent. Gon and the man bantered for a little bit, and the man that she assumed was Mr. Battera frowned down at them. "It's true that I employ hunters to complete the game, but I'm very strict on selection, and at the moment, we're only selecting those that may be able to. The number of players is limited." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but right now I'm unable to employ you."

Aliara decided she liked this man- he treated them more equally. But something still bothered her. "Well, that a bit unfair, don't you think?" she mused aloud, drawing the attention of Mr. Battera and his entourage. "You haven't even seen what we can do yet."

Gon frowned. "I thought the number of players was unlimited."

"The number of participants is unlimited, yes," the man agreed, "but you need to save game data. For that, a memory card is needed. On a card, only one player's data can be stored. Each console only allows eight players."

The black-haired boy sighed softly. "Now that I think about it, the thirty files on the memory card were only readable in Greed Island."

Mr. Battera's eyebrows shot up. "How do you know that?"

 _That's an excellent question,_ Aliara agreed internally.

"Actually, we own a saved file of Greed Island." Gon shot her a sheepish look, as if to say, _Sorry, forgot to mention it._ Aliara rolled her eyes- she'd question him later. Mr. Battera questioned them about a second object being required and the boys cried out, "the ring!"

Mr. Battera sighed, smiling. "It seems you've met the required qualifications to take part in this test." He signaled to a man behind him as Killua, Gon, and Aliara all shared excited glances.

A man with elf-like ears, slanted eyebrows, and a short beard crossed his arms as he stood in front of them. "You all know nen, right? Can you show me your ren?"

"Sure!" they all chimed together. Aliara exhaled slowly. _This is what we practiced. This is what we practiced._

Killua looked at her, his steely blue eyes exhibiting nothing but confidence. Aliara nodded.

In unison, the trio shrouded themselves with nen. Aliara exhaled and let all her nen go, feeling the rush of the power within her body. She glanced up at the creepy man as he shook his head. "No."

Confused, Aliara crossed her arms. They did fine!

Mr. Battera turned back to him. "Tsezugera?"

Tsezugara shook his head again. "They'd be heading for certain death."

Gon argued, and Aliara consulted her brain, trying to think of anything she could say that would allow him to give them another chance. Phinks had said (albeit, the constant snarling was annoying) that her family had a way with words. She had to be able to use that to her advantage somehow, right? So why couldn't she think of anything?

"How do you know who to pick?" she piped up suddenly, the words flooding her head. "Do you compare them to each other? Should we go up against somebody?"

Tsezugara chuckled. "You're already thinking ahead. We're holding a small test that we've advertised online for all hunters, on September 10th, four days away. You're welcome to return on that day to try again, though I'm doubtful we'll see different results."

Killua and Gon were already objecting when Aliara seized them both by the wrists. "Thank you _very_ much for your time," she scowled, trying to hold back on the sarcasm (and failing), "and the extremely valuable advice. You will see us on the tenth."

They all turned and marched away, Aliara's cheeks red with fury, Gon calling back over his shoulder, "we're not telling you how we got the memory card!" The black-haired girl suddenly started to realize what she'd done- had she overstepped?

"That was cool," Killua breathed, grinning at her.

Aliara grinned back.

All she had to do was focus on was the tenth.

* * *

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	43. Fire

**Chapter** **43: Fire**

November 10th was three days away.

Aliara had half of her memory, a lighter, and no ideas. It wasn't looking great.

They had all gathered around each other to talk about what they should expect on the tenth, and what they wanted to work on. Killua suggest 'hatsu' techniques, which were special individual powers that varied from person to person. Depending on what category your nen fell into, you could have a pretty large variety of things to choose from. Killua and Gon had explained the six categories to her- Emitter, Transmuter, Enhancer, Conjurer, Manipulator, and Specialist.

"So what category am I?" she had asked eagerly.

"When you did the test, you were a Specialist," Gon replied.

Aliara frowned. "If I like building things so much, why am I not a Conjurer? Don't Conjurers make and create stuff?"

Killua and Gon exchanged a glance and then they both laughed. Clueless, Aliara stared at them both before Killua shook his head. "Well, as a Specialist, I think you can do whatever you want, really. If you want to do something related to creation, I'm sure you could."

The black-haired girl still didn't understand why they were laughing, but she shrugged it off anyways.

Steam literally _poured_ out of Gon's ears as he tried to think of a solution. Laughing, Killua wished them good luck and left to practice on his own. Scrambling, Aliara left to do the same. She chose her room in the hotel as a place to practice.

Aliara sighed. The only clue she had towards anything was this stupid black lighter.

Frustrated, Aliara flicked it off and on, wondering if her memory or imagination would kick in. "This is stupid," she complained aloud, tossing the lighter in the air and catching it again in the other hand. The flame brushed her fingers.

That was weird.

Intrigued, Aliara ran the flame over her fingers again. To her surprise, it only tingled. She ran the flame up the back of her hand, the palm of her hand, and up her arm. Only tingles. She held the lighter in the same spot on her arm, and it took about seventy seconds, but then it started hurting and she pulled away.

Was there something wrong with this flame?

"Hmm," Aliara mused before proceeding to smack the lighter a few times off her desk. She tried again, running the flame over her arms, and got the same results. "If something doesn't work," Aliara whispered to herself sarcastically, "smack it a few times until it does." She spun the lighter around her finger.

Was she flame-resistant? That would be cool.

Aliara scoured her room frantically until she found the box of matches that she somehow knew she would find in her desk. Shrugging, she struck one of the matches and performed the exact same experiment as before. The same thing- so it wasn't just some weird lighter.

Well, the flames were authentic. She learned this when she brought the flame too close to a sheet of paper that was pulled free from a sketchbook and it burst into bright flames.

"Shit!" Aliara cursed, trying frantically to beat out the fire that was consuming her papers. She grabbed the paper and tore off the chunk that was covered in flames, throwing it into the empty (thank god) metal trash bin. The paper was transformed to ashes in a matter of seconds.

That was when Aliara realized that she had grabbed the flaming paper and it hadn't bothered her. Not one bit.

"Huh."

Was her nen flammable?

She exhaled and released her ren, letting the soft energy coat her body. She brought the lighter's flame to her nen. No such luck- but the nen seemed to wrap around the flame without smothering it.

What if...

What if she turned her nen into flames?

She frowned. She didn't like that idea- she wasn't sure she'd be able to handle her whole body in flames. It sounded kind of odd, too- she didn't want to be a walking fire ball. Aliara huffed and let loose on her nen for a second time, letting the energy fly out of her body. She brought the flame from the lighter to her nen. This time, she didn't let her nen surround it- she commanded it to take over the flame.

Her eyes glued shut, screwed up in concentration, Aliara inhaled slowly and almost cried out when there was a large _pop_ as the flame crackled.

Aliara opened her eyes. A flame danced in her palm.

Completely mesmerized, Aliara could only stare at the flame in her palm. Despite no fuel, it was twirling and crackling brilliantly. After a minute, Aliara's palm started to feel hot, and she shook it- but the flame seemed attached to her palm.

"Ow!" Aliara hissed angrily as she frantically shook her hand out. It wasn't working. She closed her fist around the flame instead, concentrating, trying to shut the flame off. There was an instant relief, and she knew the flame had gone out.

Aliara shook her head in amazement. "Wow." Fire seemed to be her thing.

But wasn't turning nen into other properties a Transmuter thing? She was supposed to be a Specialist. There was so much more she could do.

Aliara grabbed the sketchbook at the back of her desk and flipped through pages faster than she could read, looking at the diagrams of things she'd drawn that she couldn't remember. There was inventions for the body- modifications, shoes, sunglasses, a ring, earrings, a body suit (oh, that one looked cool) but when she got further in the book, she noticed that she had drawn weapons.

A sword that charged electricity.

Nunchuks with extendable chains.

A scythe, with a retractable handle.

Aliara had no idea she could make things like these. Killua and Gon never mentioned anything about weapons to her, so she supposed these were projects that she had never finished.

"Ugh!" she scowled, tossing the sketchbook back on the desk, opened up to a detailed diagram of a long, six foot scythe. How was she supposed to get ideas from this if she couldn't even hold fire in her hand for a minute without it hurting?

Unless...

Her eyes drifted down to the paper that had been eaten at by the fire. About half of it was gone, from the bottom right corner and up. But she could still tell that the drawing had been a detailed diagram of her gloves.

"That's it!"

Aliara jumped up from her seat, grabbing a handful of jennis from what she assumed was her wallet, and burst out the door. She almost ran right into Killua, who was posed to knock on the door.

"Wha-"

"Gloves!" she cried out over her shoulder as she took off down the hall at top speed, heading for the stairs that would take her down to the exit. "My gloves!"

"What?!"

But she was already gone, leaving Killua alone in front of the door to her room, shaking his head with silent laughter.

* * *

Day two, November 8th, was half for fixing her gloves, half for working with flames.

Aliara was finally satisfied with the final product, and she was eager to show Gon and Killua- but not yet. Later. She spent the time after letting her nen catch fire, and seeing how much fire she could produce at once. She tossed flames from hand to hand, laughing as the heat touched her palms.

The fire grew larger, and she was surprised at how quickly she was picking it up.

Day three, the last day she had before the test. It was stressful and aggravating.

The fire took a while to tame- it wouldn't bend to her will, just the way she wanted it. She needed something to show Tsezugara, and she had nothing flashy, powerful, or explosive quite yet.

"This is impossible," Aliara groaned. She glared angrily at her sketchbook at a drawing of a gun, with hidden features and weapons that looked way too complicated for her to make. Wait...

Concentrating, Aliara opened her palm. The fire appeared, which was something that made her grin- she no longer needed the lighter. She squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated, imagining the fire molding to her creation.

She opened her eyes, and the fire had twisted into a long tube.

It vaguely resembled one, at least- it was still hot to hold and was covered in flames. You could barely tell it was a tube. But that wasn't enough for her.

"Again," she told herself, forcing the flames to extinguish.

And she did it again, and again, and again.

She redrew the gun over and over and over. She tried over and over and over. The one time the fire finally, _finally_ took the form of what she wanted it to, it only lasted a few seconds before her concentration collapsed and it fizzled out. _Not good enough._

Killua found her, passed out on her bed, exhausted and frustrated. "It's not working," she complained to him after he told her it was time for dinner. "It's never going to work."

He shook his head. "You're trying something really complicated, aren't you?"

Aliara didn't know if trying to make a working gun out of flames that weren't actually there counted as complicated, but she nodded. "I just can't think of anything good to show at the examination."

"You'll be fine," Killua assured her with a roll of his eyes. "You're just stressed because there's a time limit."

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes you are!" he countered, smirking. "Save the big ideas and difficult stuff for later, when we have more time. Think of something simpler now."

"Simple," she repeated, scrunching up her nose. "I don't do simple."

He rolled his blue eyes at her again. "No kidding."

She sat down at the table with Gon and Leorio, Killua taking the seat beside her. Silent and fuming, Aliara glared heavily at the chicken that Leorio had cooked. Simple, but powerful. How could things be simple and powerful?

Well, Gon was a good example. Gon was a really simple, straightforward person who was really strong, right? Aliara stared at the dark-haired boy as he recounted a story to Leorio with plenty of enthusiasm, throwing his hands around in excited gestures.

Wait.

Why was she trying to _make_ something, when she already had herself to work with?

Mind racing, Aliara's brain started pulling ideas from abstract places. Herself. Body suit? No. Hands? Maybe. Fire? Definitely.

"I got it!" she announced firmly, standing up.

The three boys all stared up at her.

"What?" Leorio said with a mouthful of chicken.

Aliara pointed a finger at Gon. "Thanks!"

"For what?-"

But she had already dashed off again, drawing diagrams in her head.

She had fifteen hours.

* * *

 **Night Owl:** I know, she's so sassy, I love her XD Thank you! :)

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 **I'M A HORRIBLE HUMAN BEING**

 **1) LATE CHAPTER**

 **2) SEMI-BORING FILLER CHAPTER**

 **3) NEGLECTING TO UPDATE MY OTHER STORY BUT UPDATING THIS ONE WEEKLY (OOPS)**


	44. Understanding

**Chapter** **44: Understanding**

The testing came way too fast.

Aliara gulped nervously as she glanced around the large auditorium. There were more people than she had expected. This freaked her out.

But there was a little part of her that whispered, _the old Ali wouldn't panic. The old Ali wouldn't be phased at all. The old Ali would be excited, stick her head up high, and blast through the rest of the competition, leaving people wondering how she did it._ That little voice plagued her dreams, her thoughts, her interactions. Aliara tried to swallow it down but she knew all of it was true. If she wasn't so skittish, maybe she'd go back to normal. Maybe Killua wouldn't always look at her with pity. She didn't need pity, for God's sake- she needed her memory. She needed her old personality back.

She wanted to be the girl that could mercilessly tease Killua and Gon and take the teasing right back.

She wanted to be the girl who always came up with ideas that made Killua and Gon smile.

She wanted to be as strong as they were, as tough as they were, and care as much as they did.

She wanted to be more independent, and not have to depend on the two boys to do everything for her.

Her frustrated thoughts were interrupted when a hand grabbed her shoulder, shaking her gently. "Ali? Are you okay?" She peered up slowly, looking at Gon's concerned frown and his wide brown eyes.

"Yes," she said eventually, forcing a smile. "Just nervous."

Gon grinned widely. "So am I! We'll be okay."

 _You two will be- I'm not so sure about me._

"There's already a huge line," Killua noted, glancing to the abundance of people that had lined up at the side, eager to participate in Tsezugara's test and hopefully pass. Aliara swallowed- they were only taking 32, and the line was so long...

There was a loud and obnoxious snort from behind her. "Bunch of losers," someone behind them scoffed, "they don't understand anything at all."

All three of them turned in unison to face a weird man in a purple suit. "What?" Gon questioned quietly.

The man gestured with a stubby finger at the line. "Those guys in line, and the ones who are waiting. Especially those last ones. What're they waiting for? I bet that they hope to see who fails and ask them what exactly happens behind the curtain. Do they really think that'll work?"

Aliara frowned at him like he was crazy. Killua, on the other hand, sighed in understanding. "I get it. There won't be 32 people enlisted."

"Exactly," the man commended.

 _The old Ali would have known that already._

She pushed her palms against the sides of her temple, huffing. If only that stupid voice would go away...

"Ali?" Gon asked again as Killua engaged in conversation with the man in the purple suit. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Aliara bit her lip, letting her calloused and burned hands fall to her sides. "I'm really not," she whispered, trying not to let all the barriers put up to surround her emotions fall down. "I'm downright terrified. I'm going to mess up, and you guys will go ahead, and I'll be stuck here. I'm going to fail. I don't know what to do-"

"You're going to be fine!" Gon insisted, grabbing her wrists. Her eyes widened at him and she glanced frantically from her wrists to Gon's determined eyes. "You're being ridiculous! You-"

"Gon," she interrupted, "I'm not! I'm not strong anymore, I'm not as smart anymore. I- I'm failing."

"Failing at what?" Gon pushed, his eyes showing no weakness or sign of faltering. "You haven't failed at anything, as far as I'm concerned."

She spat out, "my stupid amnesia-"

"Is an obstacle," the boy said fiercely, "not an impossible wall that you can't pass."

"But-"

"You get through all your obstacles," Gon declared, refusing to break eye contact, even when Aliara tried to duck away, "and when you can't get over them easily, you build your weapons to get over them. Your shoes, your gloves, whatever it is, and it always works." His voice softened slightly, "and Killua and I are by you every step of the way. Amnesia's just another thing we can get through, I know it."

Aliara's temper flared. "You don't understand," she hissed, wanting to just quit and apologize- but something fueled her and she couldn't stop now. "I can't remember things! I can't remember why you two decided to be friends with me in the first place. I can't remember anything about you guys." Her voice cracked. "You don't understand. You _don't_ understand. Nobody does."

"Ali?"

The black-haired girl jerked her head up, snapping, "what?!" only to realize that it was just Killua. His bright blue eyes were laced with confusion and a bit of sadness. There was that pity again, the pity that she _knew_ was there. Maybe she was imagining it- no. It was there.

The man in the purple suit had a weird expression on his face, raising his thin eyebrows at her. Gon's eyes were filled to the brim with concern, and her wrists were still loosely gripped in his hands.

"Are you okay?" the white-haired boy asked slowly.

For some reason, this only served to fuel her temper even more. Of _course_ she wasn't okay. "Obviously not," she scoffed, hating herself for her tone of voice, "Not that you care. I'm going to line up." Aliara pulled her wrists back towards her, tearing them out of Gon's hands. She stood up and immediately turned to go stand in line, her gaze clouded.

She regretted it immediately but refused to look back. She could almost feel the tears threatening to push themselves out of her eyes.

 _The old Ali wouldn't be feeling like this._

Of course she fucking wouldn't.

Aliara refused to look behind her, instead running over her plan in her head. She heard Gon and Killua behind her, lined up, but at least they had a person in between them. The line dwindled, and with every step she took, Aliara just wanted to slam her head off the wall. They were mad at her, no doubt.

"Damn it," she muttered, the person in front of her stepping behind the curtain. She wasn't ready. She wasn't.

She _had_ to be. She had to prove to Killua and Gon that she could take care of herself.

Shit-

They were pissed at her now.

Aliara groaned- she had just messed all of this up. What was the point of this anymore?

"Next," the attendant said firmly.

She glared at the ground. She wasn't going to do it for _them,_ she was going to do it for herself.

"Yeah," Aliara said quietly, satisfied with her internal statement. She felt Gon and Killua's eyes on her as she marched up the stairs and behind the curtain. Her hand-made shoes creaked off the wooden floor and she tried to maintain her confidence level as she approached Tsezugara.

This was her stage now. She had to focus on nothing else but passing this test.

"It's you again," the man rumbled. Aliara frowned at him. "Show me if you've grown in the last four days."

 _Show him what you've learned._

"That includes hatsu techniques?" she questioned after a moment's silence.

Tsezugara nodded thoughtfully, watching her. "Yes."

"Alright," she said slowly, holding her hands out in front of her. Her hands were burned, rough, and had red scars everywhere. They weren't clean, either- not that you could tell through the heavy scarring.

Her burned hands were a symbol of how much she had trained. Of how much she had endured.

"Alright," Aliara repeated.

 _Fire._

The image of the flickering flame appeared in her head. She closed her palms and pushed her fists out in front of her. Before she got her idea last night, she had always let the flames dance in the palm of her hands.

Now she let the flames _consume_ them.

Her hands erupted in fire, coating up to the start of her wrist. The flames were sudden and made her hands itch, but the suddenness of it all almost made Tsezugara flinch. Aliara pulled both her blazing hands up in front of her chest, like a fighting position. "Well?" she asked coyly, the flames crackling along with her words like they agreed.

Tsezugara looked almost speechless. "Y... Yes. You pass."

"Yes!" Aliara cheered, pumping her fist in the air. The fire grew with her excitement, engulfing not only her hand but a large area around it, like she was literally holding a fireball. Aliara relaxed her hands and the flames died out, leaving her hands red and raw. If she tried it for around ten seconds at a time, she didn't feel the pain, and there weren't any serious injuries to her hands. But the scars added up. "Thank you," she said giddily, moving to the exit door he had gestured at..

"How- How did you become accustomed to the flames so quickly?" he asked, causing her to turn her head back and watch him. "That kind of resistance, feeling no pain, no screaming... That's not something you learn in four days."

Aliara thought for a second, then grinned. "I wish I could tell you," she said honestly, swinging open the door with her stinging hand.

She did it.

 _She did it!_

She glanced around the new room she was in and saw six other people. Aliara was surprised, but didn't let it show. She sat in a seat next to the wall in one of the middle rows, immediately tugging her backpack off her back and pulling out some cream she'd been using for her hands. It stung at first, but the pain gave way to a soothing sensation that almost made her sigh.

Next, the purple-suited man came through. He saw her and his eyebrows rose until he grinned at her, waving. Aliara ignored him and rolled her eyes, going back to applying the cream to her hands.

"Hey. Uh..."

Her head snapped up to stare at Killua, who was hovering hesitantly over the seat next to hers.

"Can I sit?"

"Do what you want," she said icily, trying to calm herself down. _You overreacted. He didn't do anything wrong._

Killua sat down quietly. "Look. Did I say something that upset you?"

Aliara was surprised by his straightforwardness and flipped the cap on her cream bottle closed. "Yes," she replied honestly, surprised by her own bluntness. She set her bottle back in her backpack and glanced back at Killua. He seemed to be expecting her to continue. She sighed, "yes. I... I shouldn't... I... Well, you know..."

"What?"

She bit her lip. Why did he make this so awkward? "You guys keep asking if I'm okay," she eventually managed.

"And... do you not want us to do that, or something?" Killua tried.

Aliara gazed at him and suddenly felt bad. She was being unnecessarily harsh on both Gon and Killua, and the white-haired boy was making an obvious effort to calm himself and let her talk. He didn't seem nervous, but his voice gave him away.

"It's not that," she started, shaking her head. "I just... I..."

Killua waited in silence.

"You both keep pitying me," Aliara snapped without any malice behind it. "It's always, 'poor Aliara' and 'are you okay' and it really bothers me. Like every time I have a question about something I don't remember, it's the same look. Or even when I end up remembering something- it's always pity."

The white-haired boy blinked. "Okay."

He was being unreasonably understanding. "And I know you both are trying," she said, "but you both really... _don't_ understand. You think you know what's going on in my head, but you don't. And I want to get back to normal as much as you guys want me to."

Killua was about to say something when she tacked on, "I'm sorry. I'm just stressed, tired, and constantly confused. I shouldn't be getting mad at you."

"If we don't understand, then help me to."

Aliara looked up in surprise. Killua's voice was almost... _pleading_ with her. Not quite- but it had the same tone behind it. Before she could react, he had grabbed her hand and held on tight. "I know I don't understand. I don't know what's going on in your head. I don't know what's confusing you or what bothers you."

She tried to form words but this boy was _holding her fucking hand_ and her tongue seemed to clog her throat.

"Talk to me," Killua insisted, holding tight to her hand, "talk to me and tell me what I don't understand. You'd be stupid if you thought you could get through this on your own." Aliara bristled but he pushed on. "You're not stupid. Obviously. But what I mean is that you can rely on me. And Gon. You can talk to us, ask us stupid questions, try something out. We want you to get better."

Aliara tried to speak again but, again, it didn't work. Maybe it was the fact she couldn't think of anything to say or maybe it was how her face felt like it was _fucking burning-_

" _I_ want you to get better," Killua said softly, still rolling through his speech while Aliara's brain started shooting fireworks. "You can talk to me. Whenever you want. I don't care if you scream or hit things or whatever. You just can't go through this alone."

The black-haired girl felt like she had died and gone to heaven but she managed, "I know."

"I'll stop pitying you," he promised, "and I hope you know I don't mean to. But you'll start talking to me. Okay?"

It was true, what he said. She'd been quiet; she'd avoided conversation; she'd tried not to be alone with Killua if she could help it. She'd isolated herself, she'd avoided asking questions because she was afraid she'd look stupid.

"Okay," she agreed, and she meant it.

Killua exhaled, relaxing, but he didn't let go of her hand. "Wow. That... that had less arguing than I thought it would."

Maybe it was because he was _still holding her hand_ and Aliara didn't know if the heavy heat in her cheeks was apparently invisible or Killua just hadn't noticed.

The idiot finally noticed, gazing down at their intertwined hands, and looking back at her face. Now he was blushing too, but he made no move to let go, and she wasn't about to either. They both kind of stared at each other, cheeks red, until Killua gazed back down at their hands.

"What did you do to your hands?" he said suddenly, pulling her hand up towards his face, unlocking their fingers only to gaze at her burned and scarred hand.

"Just a bit of my nen practice," she stammered, trying to calm herself.

He frowned. "You've got so many burns."

"You noticed," Aliara quipped back, smirking.

Killua was about to retort something when there was a loud bang. He dropped her hand and she let it fall to her side, suddenly feeling so cold. Gon popped in through the door, gazing around for them, and Killua waved at him. Gon eagerly jumped up the steps to their seats.

"Killua! Ali!" Gon chirped, before his gaze fell and he glanced worriedly at Aliara. "Ali, I'm really sorry if I did something-"

"I'm sorry," she shot back immediately, trying to smile at him. "I overreacted a bit. I'm just really stressed. But... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you guys."

The dark-haired boy smiled happily, lunging at her in a hug. "Thank goodness, I'm just so happy you're okay! And you passed!"

Aliara laughed. "Yeah, I did."

"I knew you could do it," Gon said optimistically, beaming, and sat himself down on the other side of Killua. Aliara couldn't help smiling- his attitude was so contagious, and he was so forgiving and understanding that Aliara didn't understand how she could've landed someone so genuinely kind as a friend.

But she completely missed what Gon whispered to Killua, and what he said back. She was too wrapped up in rubbing her hands with more cream.

"Did you guys do anything?" Gon hissed in Killua's ear.

"Idiot!" the white-haired boy hissed back. "N- No!"

"But your face is red," Gon teased quietly, "and so is hers."

Killua's face flushed even darker than before. "We- We held hands," he said quietly, his cheeks burning but the happy feeling in his heart still making him smile.

Gon's grin widened so much that Killua thought his face would split. "That's so cute!" he whispered-shouted, his voice dangerously close to a squeal.

"Sh- Shut it!"

The shit-eating grin on Gon's face only served to agitate Killua more as he smacked Gon lightly in the back of the head. "Moron!"

"Are you two good?" Aliara asked, raising an eyebrow at the both of them.

"Yes," Killua and Gon said firmly at the same time.

She rolled her eyes. "If you say so."

It was only when she looked away that Killua furiously jabbed her fingers at Gon's sides. Laughing, Gon couldn't help but do the same.

* * *

 **Anime no Akuma:** They're all freakin adorable. I'm so glad you enjoyed! Thanks for your review! :)

 **The Otaku Lady Priya:** THANK YOU! I'm so happy the fire thing went down okay, I know an OC's nen can make or break a person's interest in a story ;-; But I'm thrilled that you like it! I LOVE your idea of catching other people's nen on fire. I'm going to see if I can incorporate that into my other plans for her hatsu technique. Sugar high Killua?! I'll try XD Thank you SO SO much for your lovely review! :D

 **Night Owl:** THANK YOU SO SO MUCH! YOU ALWAYS MAKE ME SMILE! :)

 **Emerald Time:** I'm so glad! Thank you for your review, I'm so happy you're enjoying the story so far! :)

 **Guest:** Oh trust me, the creation part's coming up. XD I couldn't just leave it at that! Neither could she, she's a builder, after all XD Thank you so so much! :D

 **G:** Thank you! :D

 **That chapter kind of wrote itself... I don't even know how.**


	45. Game

**Chapter** **45: Game**

Apparently, they were some of the last ones, because Tsezugara emerged from the door not too much later. Aliara had tuned out Gon and Killua's bickering and had instead started pulling random things from her backpack. Guaranteed, she wasn't going to be able to take her backpack with her to Greed Island, so she was trying to sort all her things out now. Obviously, the shoes and gloves stayed on... but she probably couldn't bring the phone with her, so the earrings were kind of pointless.

"I will begin by congratulating you."

Sunglasses? As much as she wanted to, she doubted she could. And if this was an adventure video game or something, she'd easily ruin them without somewhere safe to put them.

"You are the twenty one people who have been selected to play Greed Island."

Tools? She had a miniature flashlight that doubled as a screwdriver... Yes. She should. Just in case.

"If you manage to complete the game, Mr. Battera will reward you with fifty billion jennis. The other details are written clearly in the contract you hold in your hands. Read it carefully."

Oh, she had that hair elastic that snapped apart and could be used as a blade. Definitely. That was something she'd found in the bottom of her bag after her amnesia mess and had fixed and perfected.

"The departure from Yorknew will occur at 5 pm."

She didn't have much room in her pockets... Unless she wore that denim jacket she had found in her closet-

"Read the contract by then, and sign it. Pack your bags for the game, and meet back at the main entrance to Tarsetol Station."

Yes, that jacket had a couple pockets in it. Or her jeans. But what if-

"Ali!"

She whirled around. "What if they inspect our pockets?!"

Killua and Gon both stared at her, blank-faced with surprise. "...What?" they both said slowly, in unison.

Aliara shook her head. "Never mind. Just planning what I can pack for the game."

Gon tilted his head sideways in question, his large eyes still filled with surprise. "But Tsezugara just told us to pack our bags for the game."

"He did?!" she gasped, standing up.

"Were you not paying attention?" Killua demanded.

She blinked. "No, I guess not."

Gon and Killua seemed to roll their eyes at the same time as Aliara hoisted her backpack up on her shoulder, grinning at them. "What are we waiting for? Let's go tell Leorio!"

* * *

"CHEERS!"

Of _course_ Leorio decided to use this as an excuse to drink.

Aliara barely knew the man, but watching him swing a bottle around was so... familiar. Her heart hurt more than her head at the moment- her amnesia was bothering her yet again. Gon had Leorio look over the contract, and the soon-to-be-doctor didn't see anything that they hadn't already been informed of, so the trio signed without problem. Leorio decided to leave soon after that, biding them all good bye, and left (after being bear-hugged by Aliara) in a small car. Killua and Gon were already packed up and ready to go.

"Five minutes," Aliara promised, but she knew it was going to take a lot longer than that. "I can clean and get ready to go."

"Alright," Gon agreed, narrowing his eyes mischievously. "Let's make it a competition."

"I'm down," Killua said with a smirk. "Whoever isn't done in five minutes has to buy the winners food on the train."

They both turned to Aliara.

Unfortunately, despite the horrible disadvantage that she had found her room in after waking up with amnesia (thanks a lot, past Ali), Aliara was never one to back down from a competition. "Bring it on," she said, grinning.

"Ready?" Gon said excitedly, bouncing.

"Set," Killua added, smirking.

"Go!" Aliara finished, and they all plunged into their rooms.

Aliara wanted to back out as soon as she saw (and remembered) what her room looked like.

Sweaters and jackets (all black, a few navy blue) were dumped on the edge of the bed; nails and screws alike were scattered across the back half of the floor; the desk was covered with used matches, papers, and several tools that she had used for her various inventions; more clothes such as jeans hung out of drawers and were draped over her chair; her lighter was somewhere hidden in the pile of miniature tools, she was sure.

"Ugh," Aliara groaned.

She glanced at the clock on the wall. She'd just wasted seven seconds.

 _Go._

Spare parts were thrown in small pockets of her bag, tools were shoved in the bottom of her backpack, things she didn't need or had multiple copies of were tossed in a spare bag that she wasn't taking with her.

 _1:42 gone._

Nails were swept up and emptied into a spare pocket, a shiny black water bottle that she didn't know she had was clipped onto the side of her bag, a spare jacket was thrown in her bag.

 _2:19 gone._

She jammed her spare sketchbook sheets that she wanted to keep into her sketchbook clumsily, not bothering to double check if she had that right tools- making sure she had taken one of everything had taken enough time.

 _2:40 gone._

Her bag was almost packed- Aliara checked to make sure her spare hair elastic, her sunglasses, and the earrings were in there. She was already wearing her gloves and shoes.

 _2:45 gone._

"Whoa!" Aliara cried out suddenly as she flung herself too hard at the far side of the room in an effort to hurry up. Scrambling to pick herself up, she started tossing her spare clothing in bags, making sure her wallet was in her backpack, deciding what she wanted to wear for their adventure.

 _3:03 gone._

The black-haired girl huffed. "Three minutes gone already? At this rate, I won't have time to brush my hair." Her eyes widened. "Hair brush!" The hair brush was thrown in her bag with very minimal concern as Aliara started to change out of her hoodie and sweats that she had worn that day.

 _The old Ali wouldn't be concerned about how she looked._

"Probably not," Aliara cursed under her breath, forcing her black jeans up and over her hips. "Shut up!"

 _4:07 gone._

She was wearing tight black jeans with a simple black belt, a cozy black tank top, and a jean jacket that she'd discovered in her closet- something that wasn't a shade of black or white! The denim jacket was snug and she liked how it looked on her, so she kept it. Grinning at the mirror, Aliara glanced at the clock.

 _4:11 gone._

Shit- she still had to finish cleaning the room. "Crap!"

Exactly at the five minute mark, Aliara strolled out of her room, quite proud of herself. Her gloves were fastened, her shoes were laced and tied, her backpack was swung over one shoulder, and her room was freaking sparkling.

...Unfortunately, Killua and Gon were already waiting outside her room for her.

"Did you see the mess in my room?" Aliara demanded immediately upon seeing their growing smirks. "It's a miracle I finished."

"You agreed to the contest!" Gon pointed out, grinning.

She pouted, "yes, but I knew I'd lose!"

"Who's fault is that?" Killua taunted. "You owe us snacks."

"Not _my_ fault!" she protested, swatting at Killua's hand as he tried to ruffle her hair. "I don't remember making it that messy!"

What was seemingly a normal statement made Gon and Killua tense up, but when they saw Aliara's shoulders shaking in laughter, then joined in. The train wasn't going to wait for them, so they all took off, eager for the next leg of their journey and to leave Yorknew City behind them.

* * *

 _"Good evening, this is Channel 9 in Yorknew City, with the five pm news."_

 _"We bring you some upsetting and surprising news concerning some of the missing businessmen that were a part of running the famous Yorknew City auction. Unlike others, who were murdered through the Phantom Troupe, this group of five men vanished before the auction began and had yet to reappear, even when the auction started and finished."_

 _"All five men were discovered down Uragiri road, a small route just outside Yorknew City, and by a nearby abandoned house. It is with our deepest regrets that we have to inform you that all five men were murdered."_

 _"The bodies were discovered by a traveler passing through. Unfortunately, Francis Terakide, the well-known millionaire, was among the dead. He had been stabbed through the chest. All four other men were found in and around the house, brutally murdered in similar ways."_

 _"This murder took place at least a week ago. Any information that you may have can be submitted directly to the police department."_

 _"May we have a moment of silence for Francis Terakide and his loyal group of workers, who never deserved a death like this."_

* * *

Three orders of snacks later, the three had settled in for the train ride. Gon was eagerly speculating what Greed Island was going to be like, and Killua was listening and adding in his own points with equal enthusiasm. Aliara remembered her hair brush and tugged it out of her bag, almost letting her pliers fly free. She tugged her hair elastic out of her long, messy black hair that nearly touched her waistline.

"Wow, Ali," Gon remarked, eyes wide, "your hair sure is long."

Aliara laughed as she tugged her hair brush through the tangles in her raven-black locks. "Thanks, I think. It sure is a pain to deal with."

"Does it get in the way?" Killua inquired, cocking his head.

 _God, he was cute. No. Bad Ali. Stop._ "Y- Yes, sometimes," she admitted, frowning as the brush got stuck on a tangle.

He stared at her. "Would you ever consider cutting it?"

(Not that he wanted her to, of course. She looked very very very nice with her hair down.)

Aliara shrugged. "I... I'm not sure. I've probably thought about it at some point." She frowned, her brain trying to pull a memory to the surface. "I think... I think my mother wouldn't let us cut it."

"What?" Gon said with a frown. "Why would she do that?"

"I..." Aliara trailed off, trying to summon memories from her head that she _knew_ were there. "I'm not too sure," she said softly, pulling her brush through her hair again. "I think it had something to do with keeping our feminine side or something like that. Make us pretty. I can't really remember."

Killua seemed to be trying very hard to stick to his promise and not pity her. "Weird," he remarked, seeming to come to a conclusion in his head, because his voice was free of conflict or concern.

Aliara's lips tipped upwards in a grin. "You know, Killua, if you grew your hair out, maybe you'd be prettier."

"Oi! What's that supposed to mean?!"

Gon jumped on her idea immediately. "Yeah! You'd have long, flowing, snowy locks!"

The way Gon said it made Aliara burst into laughter, followed quickly by Gon's snickers. Killua fumed, "No! I'm plenty pretty already! I don't need... Flowing locks!"

And _that_ made it even funnier, causing Gon and Aliara to laugh even harder, which made Killua get a little bit angrier, and Aliara couldn't wait to go on more adventures with these silly idiots.

* * *

"Thirteen?!" Aliara said incredulously, holding up her trusty 'scissors' that had been defeated by some man's 'rock'. "Of all numbers, I get the unlucky number thirteen."

"I'll trade," Killua offered, rolling his eyes. "I got eighteen."

Aliara jerked her head at Gon, who was readying himself to enter the game. "He's lucky he got number one."

The castle that the train had dropped them off at was incredibly large and full of amazing architecture. They'd been led through corridors and down many flights of stairs to a small room with multiple television sets hooked up to multiple gaming stations. To enter the game, they had to go in one at a time- which led to a huge round of rock-paper-scissors. Out of twenty two people, thirteenth wasn't bad, she supposed.

Minutes ticked by. Player after player made their way into the game.

Aliara stayed next to Killua's side as they watched the screens, waiting for confirmation that the next player was able to go.

After what seemed like half an hour, player twelve's status was confirmed, and player thirteen could enter the game. Aliara moved forwards, shooting a smile back at Killua (who smiled back, which made her heart thump noisily in her chest) before she readied her hands around the gaming counsel.

"See ya," she said quietly.

"See you soon," he replied.

Her hands lit up with white energy and she felt a short tingling sensation before the dark castle room blinked away and turned into a large, patterned room. Curious, Aliara pushed through the doorway, which brought her into a circular room with a lady sitting at a floating, circular desk.

"Welcome to Greed Island," she said brightly, her voice chipper but scarily robotic. "Would you like to hear the instructions of the game?"

"Yes."

"For this game, you need a ring." A tiny, green object appeared in front of her. Gingerly, Aliara accepted it and slid it on her finger. "In this game, every player has two simple spells. Book, and Gain."

Aliara blinked. _So far, so good._

"Please extend the hand with the ring and speak the word, 'Book'."

She repeated it. With a puff of smoke, a large book with fancy patterns appeared in front of her. "All the items you find it the game can be converted into cards. The cards are stored here. The goal of the game is to complete the book. Please open to the first page."

Aliara kinda just wanted to start the game already but she did as the lady asked, noticing all the slots were numbered. "As you can see, each slot has a number," she continued on, "But there are slots in the back that don't have any numbers. You may only place specific cards in the numbered slots, but any card but go in an unmarked spot. There are 100 imposed slots, and 45 free slots. The goal of the game is to collect all 100 cards to fit in the imposed slots."

She nodded along, and the robot lady took this as her cue to continue. "When you acquire an item, it will immediately turn into a card. If you insert the card in the book, but need to use it for some reason in the future, you may say 'Gain' to return the card to its original form. But any card that is transformed into an item may not be transformed back into a card again.

"There is a limit of three transformations for the cards. For example, if three different people have the same card stored in their books, and someone finds a fourth, they would be unable to turn it into a card. Or, if you fail to store a card in the book, it will turn back into an item after sixty seconds and be unable to return to its card form. Is this all clear?"

Aliara nodded along numbly, trying to process all the rules of cards and books and items through her head. "I assume if I die in the game, I would actually die?" she asked stupidly, already knowing the answer.

"Yes. Your book and ring would be destroyed."

Frankly, if she was going to die, Aliara didn't care what happened to the book or ring too much. "Thank you."

"You are ready to begin your quest. Please use the stairs."

Aliara took one last, long look at the robot lady before taking the stairs two at a time. She was greeted by a rush of wind and a prairie, that stretched as far as she could see. Excited, she hopped down the last couple stairs, taking it her surroundings. Maybe it was the amnesia, but she was really enjoying the space and the fresh air. They'd been in the city for a while, after all.

"Ali!" Her eyes met Gon's, and he waved at her eagerly.

"Hey!" she greeted, grinning at him as she jogged over. "This place is beautiful."

"Yeah," Gon agreed, glancing at a spot behind her. Aliara frowned before she tipped her head over her shoulder.

They were being watched.

Mostly from two directions, from what she could tell.

"I guess we just wait for Killua now," she said softly, sinking down to sit in the grass next to Gon.

He nodded, and they both sat in a comfortable silence for a minute. The breeze brushed Aliara's hair, making her long bags that she normally tucked behind her ears fall into her face. She pulled them back as Gon mused aloud, "so, how do you feel about Killua?"

"Wh- What?!" Aliara spluttered, cheeks heating up quicker than she would've liked to admit. "No!"

Gon cocked his head. "That doesn't answer my question."

She huffed, trying to calm herself. How did Gon know? Could he tell? Was she that obvious?! "He's nice," she offered awkwardly, turning her head away from Gon.

Aliara wanted to dig herself a hole so she could bury herself alive when she heard Gon's evil snicker. "Someone has a crush," he sang quietly, flashing her a mischievous grin that made Aliara really consider that dig-hole-bury-self alternative.

"No! Well, maybe- No. No, I don't. Well- No. Uh..." her voice fell to a whisper as she tucked her knees up to her chest. "Don't tell him."

Gon's grin faded from shit-eating to caring in the blink of an eye. "I won't, pinky promise. Don't worry, I think it'll work out."

"You do?" Aliara said hopefully, allowing herself to be optimistic.

"Yeah," he said firmly, smiling confidently at her. "You'll see!"

"See what?"

Aliara jumped. Not a moment too soon- Killua was strolling down the steps, smiling at them as the wind tossed his pale hair across his forehead. The black-haired girl tried to force her blush to vanish as Gon chirped, "Killua! We can finally get going!"

"Not like it was my fault," he scoffed, rolling his eyes and he and Gon punched each other playfully in the ribs.

"It kinda is," she piped up, standing up next to them. "You suck at rock-paper-scissors."

He scowled at her. "I do _not_!"

"Then why were you eighteenth?" the black-haired assassin said innocently, crossing her arms.

"I- You- Shut up!"

The trio burst into giggles before dissolving into more serious matters. Killua immediately picked out what two directions everyone else was going, and after an intense battle of rock-paper-scissors (in which Killua lost, again), Gon led the way towards his direction of choosing, his two friends scurrying after him. Killua asked Gon if his saved data had any hints or cards- but Gon just said that it only had a message, which was to enjoy the game. Testing, Aliara summoned her book and made it vanished again. She tightened her gloved hand into a fist.

She was finally going on an adventure with Gon and Killua. This was finally happening-

There was a flash. Something fell from the sky and landed right in front of them, causing all three of them to pause.

It was a tall man with an open book in front of him. He had an odd hairstyle, headphones, and a tank top, and he seemed to be glancing around confidently. "This is your first time in the game, hmm," he mused aloud, his creepy eyes drifting over them all.

Aliara didn't care about that- how the hell did he fly? Was that nen, or a spell, or something? Flying would be cool.

The man seized a card from his book and tapped it against his open page. "Interesting. Gon, Killua, and Aliara..."

"What the hell did he do?" Killua hissed under his breath, in a stance that indicated he was ready to fight.

"He knows our names?" Gon added, frowning.

Aliara didn't know what to do- suddenly, she felt like such an amateur.

The man stopped to think before calling, "trace on! Attack on Killua!"

Panic seized up in Aliara's body as a white light shot out of the man's book and at Killua. He leaped aside, forcing Aliara to move so she didn't get in his way, but the spell turned around and caught him anyways. The man cackled loudly and obnoxiously, and before Aliara even acted on her half-formed plot of killing the guy, Killua stepped forward. "What did you do to me?" he said slowly, his voice low and terrifying.

Aliara subconsciously took a step back. She hadn't seen this side to Killua.

Since-

 _Since-_

God damn, she couldn't remember.

The man panicked and cried out, "Return on! To Masedora!"

There was another flash of light and the man zipped away in the same way he had come.

"What the..." she managed, watching until the beam of light was no more than a spec in the distance.

Well, shit-

They were complete newbies.

And newbies always got trampled at the start.

Aliara cracked her knuckles, internally demanding that someone come and try to prey on them again so she could let some of her anger loose. Killua seemed to be in the same stage, glaring at some point in the distance. Gon looked fascinated and confused at the same time.

"Let's go," Gon urged, grinning. "We're not going to get anywhere standing here."

"Yeah," she agreed, jogging to catch up to Gon, Killua right by her side.

Because with these two overpowered dorks, she could do anything, right?

* * *

 **YourHomeGirlJen:** Aww thank you! Thanks for your review! :)

 **IAmAmazing326:** Aha thank you! :D :D

 **masoliki1:** I've been considering my options but yes, I think Greed Island is going to be where Ali gets her memory back completely. Thanks for your review! :)

 **The Otaku Lady Priya:** AHA Gon's so adorable! I don't want him to be a third wheel in this story so I'm throwing him into a more active role and trying to build it up. I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter, thanks for your review! :)

 **Oof:** Everyone's giving me ideas for her nen; I love it XD That's a great idea, and I certainly won't forget about it anytime soon. But if I elaborate too much, I may spoil something XD Thanks for your review! :D

 **Amu:** Aww thank you! Thanks for your review! :)

 **Yozora531:** Slap scene? I must be forgetting... XD Thank you for your kind words and your review! :) :)

 **biowolf864:** Indeed... XD Thanks for your review! :)

 **I don't know what inspired me to write that little newsflash there, but I liked it, and it stayed. It's not foreshadowing anything; it's not hinting at anything; it's wrapping everything up. And the explanation for the game? Most of us know it, some of us have no clue what I'm talking about, others need a refresher. You can skip over that part if you really want.**

 **Also: Killua is extremely pretty and we all know it!**

 **Urghhhhhh I need to start advancing the plot more ~ it's all fluff fluff and more fluff which is nice and all but I need to get the plot moving! (which is probably why this chapter is so long)**

 **Ooo, 40 000 views?! I love you all :) :)**


	46. Confession

**Chapter** **46: Confession**

Their first hour on Greed Island was a complete and total roller coaster of events.

The town was crowded with people. The food tasted fine (they ate a whole lot of it, too) but it was only after they finished when they realized that real money didn't work here- only money that was specifically in card form. From there, they were subjected to dish washing, which Aliara surprisingly had a knack for- the burning hot water didn't bother her hands at all and she was tossing dishes to Killua faster than she thought she'd be able to.

Between the prospect of a rock-paper-scissors tournament, a ranking system of cards (A through H, with S being the highest), and several ugly fish, Aliara's brain was reeling through all the new information. She was handling it well enough, but soon enough she felt like she would shut down.

To make life even better, the dead body laying in the middle of the road that looked like it had been blown in two didn't bother her or make her stomach queasy whatsoever.

Lovely.

"He entered the game with us," Killua murmured, his face screwed up in concentration.

Gon nodded along. "He was in perfect health just moments ago."

Killua swiveled around to ask the man beside them what happened, and the man shook his head gravely before replying. "His body suddenly exploded. There was a 'bang' from inside the body."

Aliara frowned. Maybe that was a type of nen or something? To implant a bomb in someone?

The body lit up with white energy and was zapped away.

Wait...

That spell that was cast on Killua before. What if...

She turned quickly to the white-haired boy. "Killua, that spell that got cast on you earlier-"

His face visibly paled as he grumbled, "Hell if I know."

"There's no such spell in the game."

The trio turned around to face a tall man with a defined jawline and short hair dressed in a hoodie. He smirked at them, "that player was killed by nen. There's no spell for something like that in this game."

Aliara ignored the rest of his attempt at conversation with Killua and Gon in favor of digging into her brain and trying to figure out what kind of nen could blow people apart. She was trying fire, wasn't she? Maybe she could make things explode. The gun idea could be developed on, sure, but what if she could make other things out of her flames? And then make her flames explode? Was that too much? Or...

"Ali?"

But what if she could shoot flaming bullets that exploded? That would require a gun... that would have to be made out of nen. This would be harder than she thought.

"Ali? Aliara?"

She jerked her head up. "What?"

"Should we go with him?" Gon asked, pointing at the man with the hoodie.

"Why?"

"...You weren't listening, were you?"

Aliara grinned sheepishly. "Nope. Not at all."

Killua and Gon rolled their eyes in sync as the white-haired boy explained, "he says that he and a group of others are working on a sure way to complete the game. He's offered us to come and see what the group is all about and if we want to join."

She frowned. "Why would he ask three people he's never met to help him?"

"My thoughts exactly," Killua agreed. "We should-"

"Alright, let's go check it out," Aliara said cheerily, already starting to walk towards the man. Gon laughed and stepped up with her.

"What- But-"

"You're the one who said we needed to gather information, right?" she teased, grinning at him. "Let's find out what this is about."

Killua grumbled something about having to save their butts later on but Aliara just high-fived Gon as they followed the man down the streets. Her head was buzzing. There was no better way to learn strategies in the game or anything like that without talking to people, and this seemed like a good way to gather information. They could get out before anything bad happened (probably...).

"After hearing us out, you can decide whether you want to join us," the man said pleasantly as they followed him down the road.

"Generous," Killua noted, having gotten over his grumpiness. "But I can't help but feel that there's something behind this."

Aliara shot a glance at Gon and he nodded to her. "Sure," the man said with a shrug. "But to understand why we need companions, you obviously need to have some notion about this game: how difficult, harsh, and terrible it is. Everyone, when they realize this, become much more receptive to my offer. Anyways, for first-timers like yourselves, I think that just listening to my explanations is valuable."

The black-haired girl shot Killua an _I-told-you-so_ look and the white-haired boy huffed. "Why do you think it's our first time? It's true that we just left the starting point, but we could just be players that left the game and are returning. Is it because we're just kids?"

The man rolled his eyes and called out, "Book."

Recognizing the book from the introduction, and from when that crazy man had cast a spell on Killua, Aliara instinctively leaped backwards, throwing her hands up in front of her face, her finger hovering under the button for the laser on her gloves.

"When your opponent takes out their binder," the man smirked, "you should do the same. That's how I know you're a beginner. Any player used to this game will do that without fail."

Aliara sighed, lowering her hands. Killua still looked skeptical.

"You can counter a spell card only with another spell card," he explained. The book vanished with a wave of his hand. "People will take out their book even if they have no cards. Bluffing is important too, you know."

"Ah, I see," Gon said firmly.

She was fuming inwardly- he was mocking them. She knew it.

Nevertheless, they all followed him (Killua agreed after he realized it was out in the open) and made their way to a plaza which was already crowded, mostly with people who had passed their entry exam with them. Aliara recognized the girl with curly blonde hair in pigtails, and the brown-haired man in the purple suit that bothered her while they were waiting to get in line.

The man entered the middle of the group and immediately recounted what they had seen in the plaza, with the dead body. Killua piped up, saying that the man who was killed was the first to pass the entry exam. The man said something about a bomb devil, whatever that was.

"The man didn't die because of a spell," one man said patiently. He had glasses on and was wearing a long coat. "Among all the spells in the game, there isn't a single spell that attacks or injures someone. So for that reason, you won't be hurt, and there's even less risk of death by a spell."

Aliara drowned him out. It was boring. He started on about how spells could only let opponents track each other. Aliara thought she'd fall asleep... Now that she thought about it, she was kind of tired.

She settled for admiring the way Killua's hair looked in the sunlight.

 _No! I can't do that!_

She shook herself and tried to avoid staring at Killua in favor of studying the dusty stone that paved the streets.

They talked about how the three ways to obtain cards were trading, finding, or taking. Frowning, Aliara tried to pay attention as they went on about their team and what they were trying to do. The man admitted that they would be trying to take cards from people, but using as little violence as necessary, which for some reason made Aliara frown. _Nothing wrong with a little bit of violence._

They finished their proposal- offering ideal numbers, what cards they had in stock, when they planned to complete the game. "This way is the only way we can succeed," the glasses man said urgently. "We will welcome you."

She rolled her eyes. She'd never liked people who were narrow-minded towards other options- including people who had one definitive way of doing something and wouldn't accept other ideas.

The purple-suited man agreed, talking about the reward- which was to be split up after successfully completing the game. Another agreed.

The men turned to the trio of kids. "How about you?"

Aliara was about to look to Killua and Gon and see what they wanted to do (even though she wanted to say no), but to her relief, Gon was already turning around. "I'm sorry, Killua, Ali," he apologized, frowning. "I want to play using my own abilities."

He walked away, leaving the two men gaping stupidly at him from behind.

"You heard the chief," Killua said with a shrug, smirking at Aliara and turning to run after Gon.

She shrugged casually. "Where they go, I go."

With a bolt, she turned and ran after them, feeling a lot lighter knowing that these two would rather adventure with just the three of them rather than a large group.

* * *

"I can't believe," Gon murmured as they strolled through the streets, "that Ging's game is a game of murder and thievery."

Aliara shook her head. "I'm sure it wasn't meant to turn out that way. Some people are just like that, I guess."

 _I think I am._

"We'll enjoy the game to the fullest," Killua promised, flashing a smile at Gon that could've cured disease. "Let's forget about those guys."

He nodded.

"Thank you, Killua."

Killua's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

"You too, Ali."

"Eh?" she tried, her cheeks heating up.

"To have come here with you both," he said, his voice never wavering once and completely filled with confidence, "is amazing. Yeah... to have met you two was a really fortunate thing."

Aliara felt her cheeks heat up. "I- Idiot!"

"That's embarrassing," Killua huffed, his own cheeks flushing slightly. "Stop it."

"Why?" Gon said innocently, pure confusion wrapping around his face. "It's true." He skipped ahead, gazing at some people walking across the street in front of them.

Her throat dried up.

 _Not really._

 _Isn't it the other way around?_

She didn't know if she'd be alive if it wasn't for Gon and Killua. They'd been nothing but helpful, especially in terms of her amnesia, and they could've easily decided she wasn't worth it.

"It's me," Killua murmured, staring at Gon's back, "who's lucky to have met you."

She smiled. It was the same with her.

"And you," he added after a second thought.

Aliara wasn't actually sure he was talking to her until she realized that there was no one else he could be talking to. "Eh?"

Killua nodded, his cheeks tinting red. "Y- Yeah. I'm glad that you're still friends with us. With me."

They turned, walking down a short alleyway that was void of other people. "Why wouldn't I be?" she said quickly, feeling the burn in her face. "I mean, I have no reason I wouldn't-"

"Yeah," he said softly, "but if you remembered everything, you might not."

Something tingled in her head, like a bell chiming. Aliara frowned and stopped walking, causing Killua and Gon to stop and turn around. "What? Can't it be enough that I'm happy being with you guys?"

The white-haired boy seemed to be caught off guard. "No! I'm happy that you're happy, but... Oh, I don't know."

"I..."

She'd heard something like that before. Something like what she said.

 _"I'm happy when I'm with you guys."_

 _"I'm always happy around you, idiot!"_

 _"You can trust us. That's what friends do, right?"_

 _"It's what friends do, right?"_

 _"...we're your family now. Aren't we?"_

Her eyes widened and went blank. The world was drowned out as different scenes started playing through her head.

The hunter exam- running away from home- sushi- the first time trying out her shoes- Killua slicing her shoulder open- running away from home- arguing with her mother- being an assassin- trying to design the gloves- beating Sadaso- meeting Zushi- creating earrings- Francis Terakide- the phantom Troupe- Hisoka- falling- pavement- crash- hospital- amnesia-

Everything came rushing back.

Who would've thought that just talking about happiness would trigger something?

"Ali! Ali, what's happening?"

She snapped out of it. Killua's hands were on her shoulders, almost like he had been shaking her, and Gon was right next to him. Gon's eyes were filled with confusion and concern, and Killua's solid blue eyes were full of worry.

"I..."

"Are you okay?" Gon said quietly.

"The hunter exam," Aliara said suddenly, testing her brain to make sure that this information was valid. "There were five phases, and the first was to run for a long time. Then we had to go through a swamp, and then we had to make sushi, and then we went through a tower-"

"Ali?" Killua said slowly, his hands dropping from her shoulders to his sides. "Do you..."

"Remember?" Aliara finished. "I remember you trying to teach me rhythm echo. I remember training on the island, and hunting down the three Amori brothers, and then surrendering to Leorio immediately in my first match. You... Illumi! Oh, when I see that sorry asshole, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind-"

"You remember?" Gon said, his voice hushed.

She nodded vigorously, not done her rant. "You sliced my shoulder open," she told Killua, and he flinched. She pulled down the shoulder on her denim jacket to examine the scar she'd always wondered about but never gathered to courage to ask about. "Not on purpose, it was my own fault, but then I went home, and... And I fought with my mother! And she kept me there for a month before you guys broke me out...

"And then it was Heaven's Arena," Aliara fired off, glancing back and forth between Killua and Gon. Her eyes were wide and the way her pupils darted frantically between them made her look deranged. "And we all got up to level 200 easily, and it kicked Sadaso's ass, and I made my gloves..." She paused.

"Gon's place!" she said immediately, not giving Killua or Gon a space to interrupt. "We all lay under the stars, and... and Gon talked about how happy he was to know us! That's why I remember this!" the black-haired girl turned quickly to Gon, who couldn't get a word in because she was still talking. "I must've said something similar. I remember laying under the stars and talking... talking about how we were happy to know each other! And how..."

She whipped around to face Killua, and in a moment she instantly regretted, she burst out, "Oh my god, I like you!"

Killua's jaw dropped. "What?!"

Gon's eyes widened. "Eh?"

Not even understanding what kind of embarrassment she was putting herself through yet, Aliara forged on. "And then there was my stupid bounty, and we went to Yorknew, and I started working on my nen, and we did the arm wrestling station thing... That dress! Oh, that was a nice dress! But I don't like it. But then there was my dad! Francis! And I... And I killed him." She swallowed. "I killed him, and then you guys showed up... And then Killua was there..."

Now she wasn't even talking to them. She was firing off her statements, one by one, to the sky and the floor, anywhere but Gon and Killua. "And we got caught by the Phantom Troupe! And you two escaped, but they kept me because I was worth a lot. But then they didn't care what happened to me, so they left me with Hisoka, who dropped me off a building...

"And then I woke up," she finished quietly, finally meeting their eyes. "And I only remember my nickname. Ali."

The silence that followed was long and uncomfortable. Aliara was panting slightly, tired. "It's all true, isn't it?" she said quietly.

Neither of them answered.

"It's true, isn't it?" she repeated.

Gon forced himself to nod. "Yeah."

"You remember," Killua said slowly. "You remember everything."

"Just because I told you I was happy we were friends," Gon added on.

She nodded. "Yeah."

There was another long silence until Gon stepped up and wrapped his arms around her carefully. "I'm so happy," he whispered. "I'm so happy you remember everything. Everything we've been through, and everything we've done."

Aliara hugged him back, squeezing her eyes shut tight, trying not to let the tiny tears that pricked the corners of her eyes fall. Killua slowly joined them, hugging both of them at once, in what became a warm group hug.

Wait a second...

...Had she just told Killua that she liked him?

Oh no.

 _Shit-_

"Thank you guys," she said, banishing her worries and fear in exchange for warmth and comfort. "Thank you guys for... for never giving up on me."

And now as she was sure that tears were sliding down her cheeks, Killua hugged her harder, and she buried all the emotions coursing through her body right now in favor of enjoying this moment while it lasted.

* * *

 **TheOtakuLadyPriya:** Ah you're such a blessing :D :D I loved that 'snowy locks' part too, it just felt right that Gon would say something like that :) I'm super excited to introduce Bisky too! Thank you so so much! :)

 **RedBurningDragon:** Poor boy. Thanks for your review! :)

 **Yozora531:** Ta da! Thank you for your review! :D

 **biowolf864:** Thank you so so much for your review! I'm glad you like it! :D

 **Night Owl:** Aww thank you! Thanks for your review(s)! :)

 **Audley Moore:** I can definitely identify with Aliara in that aspect- I've got a crazy blunt friend who says things without anything leading up to it XD That was totally a hint! I knew I wanted something to do with fire from the beginning, and I'm trying expand on it now. Thanks for your review! :)

 **Keep Calm And Be Ninja:** I'm so happy you reviewed! Thank you for pointing out what you did- I'll be totally honest, I wasn't exactly sure about that Hisoka part either. I'm so glad you're enjoying but are still willing to pick out what you're not sure about. Thank you for your feedback! Nevertheless, I'm so happy you're enjoying it, and that you like the pace. I feel like I've been dragging this amnesia thing out long enough XD Thank you for your review! :D

 **OH HO HO WE GOT A CONFESSION**

 **COMPLETELY ACCIDENTAL BUT WE STILL GOT ONE**

 **I'm sorry if you're disappointed in it because it wasn't elaborated on, but I promise I'll bring it up again next chapter :) Thank you all for your kind words! :D**

 **(...I feel like this amnesia thing has been dragged on long enough and I also feel like this chapter was going to be super boring unless I did something like this!)**


	47. Card

**Chapter** **47: Card**

She opted out of the rock-paper-scissors tournament in favor of brooding alone of one of the nearby rooftops.

Killua and Gon had both assured her that they would win, and despite rock-paper-scissors being a game that ran on luck (supposedly) the two dorks both had yet to lose a match, and if all worked out, would meet each other in the finals. How they did it, Aliara would never know. They were quite the odd pair.

She needed the time alone anyways. With all the memories flying through her head, she felt... whole. She was testing each other, talking about it to no one in particular just to see if it sounded realistic, or on the other hand, if it sounded fictional. Everything that flooded her head- all the memories, images, and voices- had proved to be true, which was absolutely insane and drove Aliara up a wall.

Originally, she had pictured her mother as a kind yet fierce woman who didn't need the company of men to make her happy. She was about fifty percent right. Her mother was a ferocious, ruthless tyrant who cared only for herself and her wealth. Kirika- Phinks' child, oh god- was the angel of the family. And there was Ano, he beloved brother who risked a lot to get her out of the mansion on the night that she escaped. And then there was Iyami, and Kuro, and...

She shook her head. It all felt.. surreal. Seven siblings? Her mother sure got around.

And her father- holy shit. Francis Terakide, who had seemed kind and respected, had instead turned out to be some sort of greedy freak. He'd tried to sell her off for her bounty, and she'd ended up killing him. She had _fucking killed him._ Her own father. On the other hand, he had tried to kill her too, so...

Aliara shook her head, banishing all thoughts of her messed up family to the back of her brain and instead rummaging through her bag for her sketchbook. She flipped through it and smiled instantly- she remembered when and why she had designed all of these. This incredible scythe that she oh-so desperately wanted to make was a weapon she'd designed after her first successful assassination at age 8. Of course, her drawing skills were... rough, to say the least, and she'd redrawn it multiple times, loving it more and more with every new diagram, every new scrawl of handwriting as another idea flew into her head.

"Ah," she sighed as she found the page with her shoes. All the ideas that she had for the shoes were written on a piece of paper that was taped inside the book- there must've been at least two dozen ideas on that list- but some were circled and others crossed out. Aliara kicked her feet out in front of her and smiled in contentment at her very first creations. She loved them then, she loved them now.

"We have a winner!" someone called from below her, and Aliara peered over the side of the building. Lo and behold, the white-haired boy was grinning wildly at Gon with his hand clenched in a fist while the dark-haired boy was pouting in frustration with his hand held out in scissor formation. Killua had won.

Aliara found herself grinning. They'd won themselves the prize, which was a card for their imposed slots. Aliara jammed her sketchbook in her bag as she saw the crowd filter out, eager to meet Gon and Killua.

But she had to figure out how to play it cool when Killua brought up the fact that she had (accidentally) confessed to him that she liked him.

She sighed, ridding the blush from her cheeks. "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," she promised herself, already knowing she was going to break that promise and worry about it later.

Aliara secured her backpack over the shoulder of her jean jacket and hopped off the building, making a clean landing next to Killua and Gon and falling into step with them easily. "Nicely done," she complimented, smirking.

Gon grinned at her. "Yeah, we got a card for the imposed slots!" He held the card out to her and she narrowed her eyes at it- number 83.

"Great," she said, smiling, and the dark-haired boy beamed right back at her.

"I mean, it was Killua who won it, not me," Gon admitted sheepishly.

"Moron, it's for all of us, isn't it?" Killua said with a casual roll of his eyes.

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess!"

"Well," the white-haired boy continued, "now we have to figure out how to protect it from attack spells."

Aliara pursed her lips. "Yeah. We're being trailed."

Both the boys nodded, having already picked up on it. "We're targets," Gon murmured, "because they all saw us win the card, so they'll all come after us. And we don't have spells."

"Give the card to me," Aliara said firmly.

They both stared at her, wide-eyed.

"What?" she demanded with a smirk. "They saw you two win it, not me. So if I keep it..."

"You have a higher chance of not being attacked," Killua finished. "Good idea."

"Y- Yeah," Aliara coughed. "Thanks."

"We can also put it in a free slot and not an imposed slot," Gon said thoughtfully. "That might throw them off."

Killua grinned, "and then we put worthless things like those rocks you picked up in the free slots so that if they do try to take it, they end up getting rocks!"

"Sounds like a plan," Aliara agreed, and they all high-fived (awkwardly, but it worked). They managed to all pull their books out at the same time, keeping their backs to a wall, and Killua slipped Aliara the 'Sword of Truth' card in the blink of an eye. Gon passed her some rock cards with equal speed and finesse, and they started walking again, pretending nothing had happened.

A few seconds later, someone shouted, "wait, you three kids right there?"

Aliara turned around and glared coldly at a man with short black hair and a pained expression on his face. He caught her gaze and visibly shivered, but managed, "Put the Sword of Truth card on the ground and walk away, and I won't hurt you."

"Get lost, idiot," Killua scoffed, and the trio resumed walking again.

"W- Wait!" he stammered, summoning his book and selecting a card.

"Book!" all three of them called simultaneously, the matching binders appearing in front of them.

The man sneered, "I know you're bluffing. You just arrived in this game! There's no way you can have any spell cards or any other cards in your imposed slots!" He sounded very sure of himself, which made Aliara want to shove her fist in his face. "Thief on! Attack Killua, take the Sword of Truth!"

The card vanished. Nothing happened.

Aliara almost cackled as the man sunk to his knees in disbelief. "Just because it's an imposed card doesn't mean it's in an imposed slot," Killua offered, smiling innocently.

Another man jumped out. "Thanks a lot, I saw everything! Pickpocket on, attack Killua!"

The card vanished in his hand.

"...you didn't put anything in your free slots either?!" the man shrieked.

This was hilarious. Killua called out, "I never said that card was in my binder!"

Furious, the man tried again. "Pickpocket on! Attack Gon!" He grinned triumphantly until that card withered away in his hand. "You don't have it either?!"

"There's three of us, you know," Aliara remarked, cocking her head and smirking.

"Pickpocket, attack Aliara!" he spat, jumbling his words. A light flashed from Aliara's book. Victory lit up his face until the man realized that the card he was holding was a worthless stone. "What the hell is this?"

"A stone," she said sarcastically, "if you couldn't tell."

The man sputtered, hunting through his binder for cards until another larger man shoved him out of the way. "Out of tricks? Move. My turn." He held up his own card, and Aliara raised her eyebrows. "I used Sightvision, so I know that neither Gon nor Killua have the card. I know it's in one of Aliara's free slots. Rob on! Attack-"

He was cut off, mostly because the card was no longer in his hand. Gon, ten feet behind the man, flicked the card back at him. "Next time, I'll keep it," he warned.

"Amateurs," Killua said with a sigh. "This one here is a pro hunter. If you rely only on spells, you're sure to lose the card before you even have the chance to speak. To cast an attack spell, you have to be within twenty meters, right?"

The man said nothing. He seemed shocked.

They turned and walked away, the man cursing and spouting foul words at their backs. Aliara grinned to herself, feeling lighter and a bit happier.

"Good job, guys," Gon whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" Aliara said back quietly.

He shrugged. "No clue. I just felt like I had to."

Aliara exchanged a weird look with Killua before they both burst out laughing. Gon joined in as they all broke into a jog, eager to leave the city and head for Masedora- the capital of magic.

...Only to be stopped by a large group of men that surrounded them.

"These guys really piss me off," Killua grumbled.

"Let's kill them," Aliara decided brightly.

Gon sighed. "This is so annoying."

Yet five minutes later, they had easily defeated the large group, purchased a map, and were making their way to Masedora. The trail was supposed to have bandits (Killua seemed excited) and monsters (Gon cheered). Aliara rolled her eyes at their antics and started to jog after them- the pair was already starting to move, eager to get to Masedora.

"Wait!"

The trio turned around in unison to see a short girl with curly blonde pigtails in a pink dress. Aliara frowned- she remembered the girl entering the game with them. "Please let me accompany you!" she called out, clasping her gloved hands together.

Aliara felt a wave or irritation wash over her as Killua said what she was feeling. "Ah, sorry. The answer's no."

(Although she probably would've said it a lot ruder than that...)

The girl seemed surprised- had she expected them to immediately let them cart her around? How annoying. "Why is that so?"

"You'd be a hindrance," Killua said with a shrug, and they all turned around and started walking again.

"W- Wait for me! I promise I'll be as inconspicuous as possible!"

Aliara rolled her eyes. What was the point of coming with them, then?

When they hit the forest, Gon picked up the speed, and Killua and Aliara matched him easily. They bounded across logs and through trees, moving faster than the average person should be able to. Yet somehow, the girl was keeping up. _So persistent. This is annoying._ Killua said they'd shake her off when the bandits appeared, and she agreed, so they kept pushing on.

She had time, so she let herself think.

How the hell was she going to deal with Killua?

Aliara had already internally prepared herself for three possible scenarios: One, he rejects her, two, he feels the same, and three, he just completely drops it.

She could already rule out number three. Killua wouldn't let this go, she knew it. He was going to bring it up. The question was, would it be positively or negatively? She almost didn't want to find out, but it was eating her from the inside.

So lost in thought, Aliara leaped over one log, didn't quite clear it, and stumbled.

"Gotcha," Killua said smoothly as his hand grabbed her shoulder, preventing her from toppling over. "You good?"

"Yeah," she managed, "sorry, I was distracted."

He looked away, and his cheeks were as red as hers. "Y- Yeah. Okay."

They started running again.

Aliara sighed. How long was the unspoken thing between them going to last?

* * *

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 **^Wow thank you for all your lovely reviews!**


	48. Bisky

**Chapter** **48: Bisky**

This girl was really bothering her.

The number one thing on Aliara's list of complaints about this odd girl was her outfit. Who _chose_ to wear a pink, puffy dress?! Certainly not any sane person. That, and her hair was in pigtails. Aliara _despised_ pigtails. But the pink puffy dress? Sure, your legs would have free mobility, but Aliara would never wear something like that in public if she could help it. Her jean jacket, black jeans, and black tank top were plenty comfy, thank you very much.

The second was how the girl _still followed them_ even after Killua told her that they didn't want her around. That was annoying, persistent, and just plain rude. What kind of reason would this blonde, pigtailed princess have for following them? It wasn't like they were famous.

Well... _she_ was.

Shit. Was that why?

Aliara brushed it off. She had Killua and Gon, and her memories back; she could take on the world.

She needed to take out some of her anger. Where the hell were these promised bandits and monsters? She was itching to hit something.

As if answering a prayer, several cloaked men jumped out from the trees to land in front of them. It was obvious they'd had some sort of training, based on their stance and easy landing from the trees. Aliara halted next to Gon and Killua and cracked her knuckles.

"Please, help us!" they all chorused in unison, bowing.

Surprised, Aliara could only stare. Then, she got frustrated.

"Damn it," she mumbled as she trotted after Gon, following the 'bandits' somewhere. "I wanted to hit something."

Gon cracked a smile. "Me too, honestly," he admitted sheepishly, making Aliara grin.

It turned out, the ninja-like people lived in a tiny village, and one of their young boys was suffering from a difficult fever, that would eventually become fatal over time. They requested money in order to buy enough medicine to save the boy- a grand total of 80 000 jennis. Suspiciously, that was exactly the amount they had on hand.

"Excuse me," the blonde girl chipped in- _Why was she still here?!-_ "If you need 80 000 jennis, I can-"

"You can shut up," Aliara interrupted rudely, not feeling the slightest bit guilty as she turned back to Gon and Killua. Yes, it was rude- but she needed to blow off steam, and frankly, did not give a damn about this girl following them for no particular reason. They both held back snickers as the girl behind Aliara fumed angrily. Gon handed over the money, and the people started weeping about how they were "true angels". Unfortunately, the boy was getting cold, and because he's the most selfless human being in the world, Gon immediately offered up his clothes. Aliara would've ignored their pleas and kept moving.

"How can we ever repay you?" one man sobbed as he took Killua's jacket from him.

"An item or something would be nice," Killua said eagerly.

There was an awkward pause.

(Gon dragged them both out of there before things got nasty)

* * *

"Nothing," Aliara said with exasperation. "We got nothing from them. All that money, gone."

Killua snorted. "Well, you didn't give up any of your clothes! Why are you complaining?"

The black-haired girl hugged her jean jacket to her body. "Hey, they had plenty. Besides, I like this jacket!"

"Hey, guys!" Gon called out.

The pair dashed over to where their friend was to see a long valley, covered in large piles of rocks. The valley seemed to be endless; it seemed to stretch on for miles length-wise, too. Aliara frowned but hopped over the ledge they were perched on, skidding to a stop at the bottom. The boys were quick to follow. "Let's fight something," she declared, punching her fist into her palm. "I need to get rid of some of my energy."

"Me too!" Gon agreed.

As if on cue, several large- _holy hell these are huge-_ muscled creatures with one eye came out of nowhere. There were a lot of them, which didn't help, but Aliara cackled. "Bring it on!" she whooped, jumping over one monster's giant fist as it plunged into the ground in front of her.

They split up. Aliara sped up the monster's arm, pausing on the shoulder. A second monster lunged at her, and she jumped away. The second cyclops's fist came down on the first monster's shoulder, and the first monster collapsed with a howl. Unfortunately, it got back up just as quickly.

Pros: They were pretty stupid.

Cons: They packed a hard punch (she felt the wind from it) and they seemed to have tough skin and stamina.

"Gon! Ali! Aim for the eyes!" she heard Killua call, and she rolled her own emerald eyes. She should've known that. Oh, well- all the more fun for her.

Aliara whipped up her laser and fired, taking the first cyclops right in the eyeball.

The monster howled, gigantic hands flying up to his gigantic eye, but he vanished in a puff, turning into a card. Aliara picked it up, rolling away casually from another monster's fist. _Only G for rarity?_ Aliara summoned her books, sidestepped a monster as it tried to stomp on her, and popped the card into her book.

Sure, she could shoot them all down.

But how boring was that?

In a flash, she was on top of Ugly #1's head, kicking her foot into his eyeball. She didn't even need the spike function on her shoes; the monster crumbled all the same. Next was Ugly #2; they just kept falling like dominoes. Some of the cards reverted back to their normal forms, leaving fainted monsters crumpled on the ground. "If we stay calm," Killua said simply, "we can beat them. They have simple and repetitive movements."

"This is Ging's game!" Gon supplied, "of course it's like that."

Aliara rolled her eyes. "Can we keep going? That was just a warm up."

The other two grinned at her, and they walked on.

Killua led the way, but Gon slowed down to keep pace with Aliara. "Hey, Ali?" he said cautiously. "How are you feeling?"

"Great," she replied simply. "It's weird now, because I don't have to ask you guys everything. The answers are just... there. And fighting is a lot of fun." The black-haired girl raised her eyebrows at him. "Why do you ask?"

Gon shrugged innocently, but Aliara caught a hint of mischief in his eyes. "Well, considering you confessed your love for Killua while you were ranting-"

"Gon!" Aliara hissed, slapping a hand over Gon's mouth, eyeing Killua warily, who was still far ahead. "Quiet!"

The boy giggled, moving her hand away. "I know. Sorry. But you probably shouldn't leave him confused, hmm?"

"Confused?" she repeated.

Gon nodded. "He's not sure if you meant it or not. And he's way too nervous to bring it up. Secretly, he keeps hopping you'll bring it up so he doesn't have to."

Aliara frowned, her cheeks red. "Why would he be nervous? It's not like he... he..."

She trailed off, and Gon grinned at her. "He's totally head over heels for you," he sang quietly.

"Gon!" Aliara whisper-shrieked, glancing frantically at Killua, who was actually really far ahead- thank God. "He is not!"

"How do you know?"

"I just... I just do!"

"But isn't it better if he likes you?" Gon asked easily, frowning at her. "Then you'd both be happy."

Aliara shook her head. "But he _doesn't_ ," she insisted, "I don't want to... get rejected."

Her cheeks were close to scarlet now, but instead of teasing her, Gon patted her shoulder sympathetically. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure it'll work out!" He offered her a brilliant smile before he skipped ahead to join Killua.

Aliara exhaled slowly. Gon said that Killua liked her!... But there was no chance that Killua would ever like her back... Right?

Right?!

(Gon caught up with Killua easily, a shit-eating grin on his face. "What is it?" Killua said quickly, trying to hide his eagerness. "What did you talk to her about?"

"I asked her if she was okay," the boy said slowly, "and then I asked her what she was going to do about her confession?"

"And?" Killua urged, his heart beating loudly in his chest. "Did she..." he coughed. "Did she mean what she said?..."

Gon nodded feverishly. "Yup! She totally did!"

"No way," the white-haired boy whispered.

"Yes way!"

"She likes me," Killua clarified slowly.

"Yes!"

"Are yousure? Like, one hundred percent?"

 _"Yes,_ Killua, I am!"

He nodded slowly, then pushed his palms on the side of his temples and groaned, throwing his head back up to the sky. "No way. She doesn't. I don't see why she would."

Gon internally groaned. No one would ever understand how difficult it was trying to get two people together when they were both too stubborn to actually see anything for themselves!)

Aliara shook her head. She'd worry about that later. Shoving that ridiculous idea to the back of her mind, she started to jog, hoping to catch up with Gon and Killua when this ginormous lizard thing poked its head through the rocks. Seriously- she'd thought the cyclops were big, this thing took the cake. She immediately raised her laser, firing from a distance, but the red beam seemed to fizz out against its skin. Frowning, she aimed for the eye. The creature seemed to turn in annoyance, nothing more. What the hell was this thing?

They attacked, but nothing seemed to do a thing. Killua and Gon decided to hide from it and continue, but as they were moving on, Aliara turned back and fired again, aiming carefully for the monster's stomach as its leg shifted.

She hit it. The creature grunted, whimpered, and turned back to her, nostrils flaring.

Its weak point was its stomach. Interesting.

Aliara turned her back on the creature, taking off after the boys. The lizard didn't follow. "Stupid reptile," she grumble, pushing the laser back into its place on her glove.

She was almost caught up to Gon and Killua when this puffy black thing struck Gon across the face.

How many monsters were there going to be? And how much weirder were they going to get? After that talk with Gon, Aliara's fighting spirit (if you could call it that) seemed to ebb away. Instead, she just wanted some alone time with Killua, to go over what the hell had happened. Who was she kidding? Of course she didn't want that! That would be suicide!

Monster after monster. Failed attack after failed attack. When Aliara was finally at the peak of her frustration against this suit of armor, someone called out from behind them, "Gyo! Use gyo! You can, can't you?"

It was that stupid girl again. Aliara snarled- her stubbornness and pride were too high to follow the orders of someone she didn't know or tolerate. However, Gon cried, "Got it!" and used his Gyo to find a tiny rat creature that was controlling the armor from the shadows.

The girl hopped down from the rocks. "Why didn't you use Gyo before? You three can all do it."

Aliara bit her tongue.

Killua shrugged.

Gon stared.

"You forgot, didn't you?" the girl sighed, holding up her finger.

Aliara glared at the girl. She didn't like her, one bit.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!" Pigtails screeched. "GOD?! USE GYO!"

"The number one," Gon muttered as he activated his nen around his eyes. Killua nodded along.

Aliara had refused.

"All right, from now on, whenever I hold up my finger, use Gyo right away! And then tell me loudly what you see!" she announced. "And if you ever feel a suspicious atmosphere, use Gyo. When you look at a faraway place, you focus on your eyes. I want you to be able to use Gyo as quickly and as accurately as that."

Gon nodded along.

Killua frowned.

Aliara snapped, "Give me one give reason why we should listen to you."

All eyes turned on her. Pigtails looked surprised, but frowned at her, holding up her finger. "From now on, I'm going to be your coach, and I'll even do it for free. In exchange, I want you to do exactly what I tell you!"

"Five," Aliara snorted, noticing the floating number at the girl's finger. "But you're crazy. We've got no reason to listen to you." Gon and Killua looked at her in surprise. Gon looked like he was about to say the number, too.

"You two, 200 push ups," Pigtails ordered. "The slower ones do push ups."

Killua squawked in protest while Aliara fumed, "don't ignore me! We've got no reason to stick around with you, and honestly, I can't stand you so far."

Pigtails cocked her head, ignoring the fury behind Aliara's words. "Don't you want to get better?"

"Yes," Gon interjected, shooting Aliara a look.

"Then I'll coach you," the blonde girl said simply. "For free. I've got plenty of experience, and judging on how you handled all those monsters, you're going to need my help."

Aliara was grateful when Killua scoffed, "Experience? You can't be older than us."

It was nice to know someone else was on her side. Wasn't this a bit suspicious? A girl coming out of nowhere, planning to train them? That practically summoned the red flags. She probably had ulterior motives.

"I'm 57 years old," she said simply, "I've got plenty of experience."

"57 years old?" Gon said in surprise.

"You're kidding!" Aliara said in awe. Even her mother didn't look that young.

"You're a hag!" Killua cried out.

One flying fist sent Killua tumbling backwards. Even if she didn't like this girl, Aliara had to admit that she could pack a punch. "I started learning nen forty years ago," she said, agitation now clear in her voice. "You should be grateful for my offer."

"Who the hell are you?" the white-haired boy demanded, clearly as frustrated as Aliara was.

"I forgot to introduce myself," Pigtails realized, smiling. "My name is Biscuit Krueger, pro hunter! But you can call me Bisky."

Aliara rolled her eyes. What had they gotten themselves into?

"This is like the Wing situation all over again," Gon groaned quietly, and Aliara knew exactly what he was referring to. She had refused to trust Wing for a long time- but that time, Killua had gone along with it. Now, he was as suspicious as she was. Which was nice.

"Don't remind me," the former assassin grumbled, scuffing her shoe against the ground.

Bisky frowned, "Wing?"

"Yeah," Killua said, jumping on the opportunity. "We already have a teacher. We don't need another one."

"Oh, Wing?" Bisky said, her face lighting up. "He was my disciple!"

Gon and Bisky immediately fired back some questions- if they were pro hunters, whether they'd passed the hidden exam- and Aliara had tried to take that time to push her anger down. She was overreacting, and she knew it. "I'm the master of your master," Bisky said simply, "so you shouldn't have a problem."

"Only if your story is true," Aliara grumbled, crossing her arms.

Bisky rolled her eyes. "You two are both so stubborn," she said with a laugh, nodding towards Killua before she turned back to Aliara. "But you've got quite the fiery temper." (Aliara almost laughed when she referenced fire) "I like that kind of character. We're going to have so much fun together!"

Aliara groaned. This was getting worse and worse.

(That, and the creepy scissor-wielding man that was watching them was only going to make it worse...)

* * *

 **RedBurningDragon:** Fun indeed... Thanks for your review! :)

 **The Otaku Lady Priya:** I hope you enjoyed the little moment(s) I threw in there XD Gon is so frustrated with these two dorks, it's so cute. Thank you! I love talking to you too! Thank you for your review! :D :)

 **YourHomeGirlJen:** Thank you! I'm actually really looking forward to that part of the story too... I've got an idea. Thanks for your review! :)

 **Keep Calm and Be Ninja:** Yeah, I've been referring to the manga as I go, and in the manga they kept the sword, so I just ended up leaving it like that. Honestly, I'm satisfied with it. And thank you! Killua and Ali will have their alone time soon, I promise... XD Thank you for your review! :D

 **Night Owl:** Aha thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed! :)

 **Yozora531:** You called it: here's our miracles boy, Gon. (Was that a Guardians of the Galaxy reference?...) Thank you for your review! :)

 **Early update woot woot**

 **(mostly because my schedule is jam-packed with insane family parties over the next few days... Pray for me)**


	49. Binolt

**Chapter** **49: Binolt**

"Sit down, pull out your book, make casual chat," Bisky said simply, sitting herself down in the dust. "There's an enemy at my back."

Aliara blinked but complied, sitting herself down with a thump. She couldn't sense anyone, but the lack of encounter with anyone else had made her suspicious. Frankly, it was about time. "How could you tell?" Killua said, hushed.

"His blood lust," Bisky said, flipping a page in her book. "He intends to kill us. But he saw a group of kids and dropped his guard, which proves he's an amateur."

"So you think he's weak?" Gon asked.

Bisky shook her head. "Quite the opposite. He saw us and erased his presence immediately, and his willingness to approach three of us at once indicates that he's strong."

Aliara nodded along, "so what do we do then?"

The blonde girl looked temporarily surprised before she asked, "what do you guys think?"

"Attack him together," Gon answered. Killua and Aliara nodded along. When Bisky asked why, Gon replied, "because if he erased his presence after lowering his guard, it's because there's four of us. So if we attack him together, I think he'll become unstable."

"Correct answer, but we should make our moves in different directions," she countered. "If I go alone and you three go together, there's a one hundred percent chance that he'll go after me. Go five hundred meters down, until you hit the rock ledge, and then use zetsu and double back. Got that?"

Aliara bit her lip. She'd much prefer to do it their way, but if this 57 year old said to do it this way... Who was she to argue?

Right. Argue against this girl she didn't know and had no reason to trust. Sure.

But if she had taught Wing...

Without further warning, Bisky reached out and slapped Killua hard across the face.

Gon's face went blank.

Killua was surprised.

Aliara suppressed a laugh.

"If you really think so, that's fine!" Bisky yelled, standing up and glaring down at Killua. "I can't stand you anymore! Bye!"

"Fine!" Killua huffed, playing along. "Idiot!"

The trio stood up and marched off, not once looking back to Bisky. As soon as they were one hundred meters away, Aliara started giggling. Killua huffed, "oh, shut up." Gon started giggling too, and soon it was two against one. Killua fumed inwardly.

They activated zetsu and doubled back, dashing over the rock. Aliara took the high route and paused over top of the mountains of rocks, halting abruptly when she realized where they were. Bisky stood in the clearing, right across from a tall man with beady eyes and a pair of scissors in his hands. One of Bisky's pigtails had been chopped off, but she didn't seem bothered. The creepy, beady-eyed man clutched his scissors in one hand and long gold locks in the other. Bisky's hair.

Aliara almost gagged as he swallowed her hair, cackling about how he would know everything about her. She watched his eyes bulge out of his head- he probably learned her true age- and then he settled his scissors back in his scissor pouch hanging from his belt. He pulled his hands back into fighting position, and Bisky did the same. He lunged, and she easily flipped him in the air and slammed him on the ground with more force than Aliara thought was possible.

"You're lucky," Bisky said pointedly, shrugging, "in a nen fight, you would be dead." She noticed the trio watching, beckoned them over, and told them, "if he was a game character, he would've turned into a card, and his rank would be D."

Aliara's eyes widened. Only? He wasn't weak at all- rather, Bisky was stronger, by a large margin.

"Bisky," Gon said slowly, "will you train us?"

(Aliara inwardly scowled)

She beamed. "That was the plan." The blonde girl (woman?) turned to Killua and Aliara. "Is it okay with you two?"

Killua shrugged. "It's fine."

Aliara bit her lip but nodded.

The man coughed weakly, spitting up blood.

"Here's the deal," Bisky said firmly, clapping her hands together and turning to the man. "You're Binolt, right?"

He nodded slowly, trying to stand up. "Yes."

"Good. You have two weeks to fend off the attacks of these three, and then I'll let you go."

Aliara blinked. "Eh?"

"But I can do whatever I want to them, right?" he slurred, staggering to his feet and pulling out a pair of scissors. Aliara ignored her first instinct to back up.

Bisky nodded. "Yes. But if you're put in agony, or they get a critical hit on you, I'll kill you. Plus, you're not allowed to leave this area. Got it?"

Aliara thought this was insane.

Then it slowly dawned on her- what Bisky was exactly trying to do. Training. A training exercise. Interesting.

He nodded. "Perfect."

Bisky turned to the edge of the clearing and started to scale the stone wall. "This is Binolt, black list hunter. His nen allows him to eat the hair of his opponents and learn everything about them, from their name to their physical abilities to diseases or illnesses. He prefers twenty year old girls."

 _Was that last comment really necessary?_ Aliara thought, glancing up at Bisky.

"Twenty two, actually," Binolt mused, eyeing Aliara oddly.

The black-haired girl swallowed and pulled her hands up in front of her face. She didn't like the way Binolt was looking at her. She stared at her gloved hands warily before undoing the straps on her gloves. "Hey, Bisky," she called, and when the blonde girl was looking, she tossed her gloves up to her.

Bisky caught them with ease. Aliara flexed her wrists.

"What was that?" Gon asked.

"This is training, right?" Aliara said simply. "So I want to train. Not using my inventions."

The boys both grinned at her, and the three of them jumped at Binolt as soon as he sat down.

Gon leaped at him, running directly forward, and was Binolt was focused on Gon, Killua jumped down to his side. Aliara immediately dashed in from the other side.

Binolt whipped out two pairs of scissors, swinging one set at Aliara and one at Killua. She halted just in time- he would've taken her eye out- and felt a burn over her cheek. She pressed her finger to her face and felt warm blood. He nicked me.

He'd also gotten some of her hair, apparently- probably her bangs- because he was scooping short black hairs into his mouth. "Aliara Lorvell," he croaked, and she almost flinched. She hadn't heard someone say her full name in a long time. "You've had quite the struggle."

Killua and Gon regrouped. Aliara was frozen.

"Amnesia accident," Binolt coughed, spitting more blood into the sand. "You got dropped off a building. And you broke your arm when you were five."

"My brother shoved me out the window," she admitted, smirking at the memory as it danced in her head. It was supposed to be a practical joke, but Kuro had taken it too far and she'd fallen out of the second story window.

"You also got sliced open at the shoulder," he mused, jamming a set of scissors back into his belt.

"Shut up," Aliara snapped, turning away from him and marching back over to Gon and Killua. The fact that this... creepy bastard knew everything about her- just because he'd eaten her hair- was creepy and very invasive.

Killua picked up a pile of rocks. "We'll take shifts. He'll cut us if we get too close."

"Can he cut rocks?" Aliara mused, turning to Gon. He grinned back at her and ran over to the biggest rock in the clearing. With a swell of nen, Gon punched the rock and it shattered into smaller rocks that were still her size or bigger.

That was how it went. They used the rocks for cover, darting around until they could get an opening. They kicked rocks around the sandy area to create hiding places and a more crowded environment. They distracted him; they avoided him; and they attacked him. About two hours in was when they finally had the opportunity to land a hit- Gon punched a rock at Binolt, exploding it into pieces, and while he was distracted, Aliara leaped over him. Concentrating on two people at once, Binolt momentarily forgot about Killua, and the white-haired boy landed on Binolt, ready to punch him in the face.

"Wait!" Gon objected. When Killua and Aliara stared at him quizzically, he added, "we have thirteen days still. Let's use them. For now, we should let him recharge and we can get some sleep."

Aliara had to laugh. Only Gon would actually do something like this.

Nevertheless, she and Killua agreed to go along with it, and they picked one area with a bunch of tall, bulky rocks and settled down to sleep. Aliara sat herself down across from Gon, but Killua sat down next to her. She was sure he'd be able to hear how loudly her heart was beating.

Binolt tried to move and they all glared at him in unison. He shrunk back.

Aliara drifted off into a light sleep, still keeping an eye on Binolt. She didn't trust the shifty man at all, and had no reason to.

She woke up again after the night had passed. She looked up and realized Gon was fighting Binolt, dancing between rocks and lobbing small stones at the scissors man. She was about to get up and go join him when Killua said, "Hey."

Just one simple word froze Aliara and she halted. "Hey," she said back, trying to fight down the burst of panic that was swelling inside of her.

"Uh, look, I just thought we should talk," Killua said slowly, rubbing the back of his head nervously. That was something he did when he was nervous, she realized. Rub the back of his head. Honestly, it just made him look adorable, but she shouldn't be thinking about that right now.

"Yeah," she said with a sigh, shifting so she was sitting cross-legged and facing Killua. "Probably."

"Well-"

"I-"

They both chuckled nervously and stopped- they had both tried to start at the same time. "You first," Killua said, nudging her with his foot.

"Okay," Aliara said, exhaling slowly. She could kill people twice her size; this was nothing. Right? "Look, I'm sorry," she blurted out.

"You're what?" Killua said in surprise.

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "It wasn't fair of me to just... let all that out at once. I should've been watching what I was saying. It wasn't fair to throw that at you and then not follow up on it."

Killua averted his eyes. "Oh! Well, I mean, I can't say I blame you. I don't know what it was like for you to have amnesia and then get all your memories back, but..." he trailed off before continuing. "Yeah, it's okay."

Aliara sighed, avoiding his eyes as he stared at her. "Still wasn't nice of me, though."

There was a silence, but it didn't feel awkward. Part of this had been cleared up. _Now... the hard part._

"Did you-"

"Do you-"

They both paused again, and then Aliara laughed. "My bad. You go first."

"No, it's fine, you go," Killua said quickly, waving her off. His cheeks were red.

"So I'm the one doing the hard parts of this conversation?" she complained, grinning. Her cheeks were probably fire-engine red, but that didn't concern her at the moment, which was strange.

Killua shrugged, grinning right back at her. "Yep."

She huffed. "Well, uh, never mind."

"What?"

"I was," she paused, "I was just going to ask you a question, but it's okay, I don't need to-"

"Oh. Uh... Yes."

Aliara looked up. Green met blue. "Yes to what?"

Killua blushed. "Your question."

"But you don't even know what I was going to ask!"

"I think I have a rough idea," he said, smirking. "And I can't have you doing all the hard parts of this conversation."

She laughed.

Killua leaned in and pressed his lips to the cut on her cheek that she'd gotten yesterday from Binolt. He only lingered for a moment before pulling back, but a moment was all he needed. Aliara felt like her brain had short-circuited.

He winked at her. "See you soon."

He _winked_ at her.

He fucking _winked at her._

What a smug little!...

He got up and leaped over the rock, presumably to go help Gon in his fight against Binolt.

Aliara pressed a hand to her cheek, which was still warm- but now, not just from her own blush.

(If she'd listened, she might have heard Gon smacking Killua across the arm and hissing, "I told you!")

She squealed and hugged herself before getting up to go join Gon and Killua. But the entire time, she couldn't keep the stupid smile off her face.

Apparently, neither could Killua.

* * *

 **RedBurningDragon:** Torture indeed. More torture in later chapters ;) Thanks for the review! :)

 **The Otaku Lady Priya:** GON'S SO ADORABLE! HE'S SUCH A LOVABLE DORK! I hope you liked the end of this chapter! Thank you so much! :D

 **robertastarcris11:** Thank you! Here you go! :D

 **Guest:** I'm so happy you liked it! Hopefully Gon won't have to play matchmaker much longer... ;) Thank you for your review! :)

 **Yozora531:** Gon's the freakin captain of this ship and without him they wouldn't be as close as they are now XD Thank you for your review! :)

 **Night Owl:** ME TOO XD I'm so glad you enjoyed, thank you for your review! :D

 **At Night We Rise:** I hope this chapter satisfied you then ;) Thank you for your review!

 **ONLY TOOK 49 CHAPTERS BUT HERE WE ARE YESSSSSSS**

 **Thank you all for your kind reviews, I love hearing from you :)**


	50. Tunneling

**Chapter** **50: Tunneling**

They took advantage of the opportunity they had with Binolt and spent thirteen days training. Aliara felt a lot better than she had in the past few days (no, it was not because Killua kissed her on the cheek! Of course not!) and gradually became quicker and stronger during their training. After their session was done, Bisky sent Binolt away, and the four finally- _finally-_ started off for Masadora. When they got there and reached the spell card shop, Bisky insisted on picking up a couple things. Then...

"Let's head back for the stony area that we started in!" the blonde girl said cheerfully.

"What?!" the trio cried in unison.

Aliara smacked herself on the forehead. "You've got to be kidding."

She wasn't.

So they went back, Bisky handed them shovels, and told them to go back to Masadora- in a straight line. They had to dig through the mountains (at least the soil was soft) and they had only got through two before it was nightfall. Bisky had them sleep up against a stone wall and handed each of them a rope to hold. The rope went up a good ten or twenty feet, hooked on some sort of support, and then dangled back down with rocks attached to the end.

"If you're going to sleep, hold these," Bisky instructed, twirling a knife between her fingers. "I'll cut the rope every now and then. This will help enhance your alertness when you sleep."

Gon looked troubled, but Aliara and Killua shared a smirk. They'd both done this before.

Needless to say, Aliara and Killua got a good night's sleep. Gon did not.

That became their schedule. Digging in the day, sleep with the threat of falling rocks at night. Digging became easier when Gon came up with the idea of putting aura in the shovel, but it was incredibly draining and exhausting.

Gon had just used the wheelbarrow to pull a load of dirt outside their little cave when Killua asked, "how're you doing?"

"Tired," she replied instantly. "But not as tired as Gon." She shot a worried look over her shoulder.

Killua nodded. "Yeah, he's been pushing himself really hard, not to mention the lack of sleep."

Aliara pushed the shovel into the dirt and tossed it over her shoulder. "He'll be okay. He's tough."

"Yeah," the white-haired boy mused, taking his turn to thrust the shovel into the dirt. Aliara swiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand as Gon hurried back, empty wheelbarrow in hand. Aliara took the next load out; Killua went afterwards. By then, they'd made their way through one mountain and were on the next. When Gon left to go remove a load of dirt again, Killua turned to her. "No, seriously. How are you?"

"What'd you mean?" Aliara replied, tossing dirt over her shoulder.

"How are you feeling? How's your head?"

Aliara distinctly remembered arguing with Killua and when he claimed that he wanted to talk to her more. She wanted to be closer to Killua, she really did, so she tried to think of something to say. "It's... weird," she started, jamming the shovel back into the cave wall. "I was getting used to not remembering things, but now, if I think about things like... Well, it's just there. And I'm wondering if it's all true or not."

Killua thought back to when she first got her memory back. She had been recalling memories, replaying them, then asking if they were actually real, like she couldn't believe it. "It probably is," he said. "I mean, it's probably all true."

"What about this?" she asked hesitantly, pulling aside her jean jacket to show the long red scar that was under the strap of her tank top.

He swallowed. "What about it?"

"It was you, right?" Aliara said, her voice dangerously close to a whisper.

"Yes," he confirmed, almost wincing from the memory of Aliara collapsing to the floor, red clouding his vision, "and I regret it every time I see it. I didn't mean to, but..."

"I jumped in the way," she finished.

By now they had both stopped shoveling. Killua was staring at the scar, almost like he was afraid of it. "You don't still blame yourself, do you?" Aliara said quickly, covering the scar again by pulling up her jean jacket. They were only a couple of inches apart now. How did that happen?

Killua carefully touched his hand to the scar, under her jacket, then withdrew. He shook his head, then shrugged. "Sometimes."

"You shouldn't."

"I know."

Aliara sighed, "it wasn't-"

"Oi! Less kissing, more shoveling!"

Aliara's face flushed with heat as Gon rolled the wheelbarrow back into their tunnel, grinning. Killua grabbed his shovel and slammed it into the dirt pile, his cheeks as red as Aliara's. Gon grinned at both of them before grabbing his own shovel.

"We weren't-"

"We didn't-"

Gon rolled his eyes and cut them both off. "Whatever you say," he sang cheerily.

"I'm taking the wheelbarrow out!" Aliara announced hurriedly, trying to avoid further embarrassment.

"There's barely anything in there!"

 _"I don't care!"_

"Gon, you made her mad!"

"You want all this dirt on your head? Do you?!"

"Just take the dirt out, Ali!"

"Not like there's anything anyways."

"Gah!"

* * *

They got through seven kilometers that day, covered in dirt, sweat, and grime. When they went to sleep, they were all holding large boulders over their heads. Aliara had to leap out of the way of the falling rock once; Bisky didn't try to interrupt her sleep after that. Gon was getting much better as well- he looked much more well rested and she was glad.

They finally, _finally_ arrived in Masadora.

"Back we go!" Bisky cheered, pointing the way back to their starting point.

"No way!" the trio chorused, groaning.

And back they went. This time, they were told to collect and defeat monsters on the way. Aliara hunted down tiny mice that tried to control suits of armor, snatched the tails of tiny black fuzzballs that bounced around, and kicked the bubble horse's ass. It was weird, because unlike before, when they had a lot of trouble defeating these monsters... It was easy. Aliara could keep up fine with the black puff ball thing, could easily dodge the bubble horse's attacks.

They were at this for two weeks.

Killua was doing the best out of the three of them. He got the bubble horses almost first try. It took Aliara and Gon a few tries, but before they knew it, they were moving together like a machine. Aliara had never felt better.

After that was nen training- specifically, 'ko', putting a certain percentage of one's nen energy into different parts of the body. When Bisky got them to spar, it was the slowest thing that Aliara had ever done, which was painful. She'd never been a patient person, which meant that this was one of the hardest she'd ever done. It took twelve seconds to even throw a punch, when in reality, a fight could be over in twelve seconds.

"I hate this," she groaned one night after a particularly slow sparring match with Gon.

Panting, Gon grinned widely. "It's fun!"

"Of course you think it's fun," Aliara grumbled, slumping against the rock wall. Her backpack, which she had been lugging around since the beginning, had been neglected and ignored in the last couple weeks due to their difficult training and she felt bad. She pulled her bag in front of her and started tugging out her tools. The bag was covered in dirt and was nearly ripped at one side, but she could sew that up.

"Perfect," she breathed, finding the small silver box at the bottom of her bag and pulling it out.

"What's that?" Killua wondered, staring at the box in her hands.

Beaming, Aliara popped the lid off. "Miniature sewing kit."

"Really?" Gon piped up.

She nodded, pulling out the tiny spool of black thread and a needle. "Yup. I was always sewing fabric or something over my stuff, like when I fixed up my shoes or my gloves, so I bought this mini one while we were in Yorknew. It's been pretty handy." She immediately fixed the thread to the needle and set to work on her backpack. "I haven't really worked on anything new lately, so I'm kind of fidgety, I guess," Aliara finished with a laugh.

To Aliara's surprise (and relief), Bisky gave them a night off. No boulders hanging above their heads, no constant threat of having to wake up instantly. No doubt she had something planned, but when they asked her, the blonde lady just winked and said, "You seem to have the hang of it."

So they chatted. They made up stories, they laughed, they retold stories. Aliara found herself relieving the time her brother had shoved her out the second floor window in their mansion (Gon had overheard Binolt talking about it and had asked) and soon Killua was exchanging his own sibling stories. Gon, who was an only child, instead took to recalling his interactions with other people on the island, which were amusing in their own way.

Sure, they didn't know everything about each other. But they were getting there, right?

Eventually, the trio decided to try to get to sleep. Gon was out like a light, leaning up against Killua's right. Aliara was on the white-haired boy's left side, staring up at the stars. She wanted more times like this, when they had no worries or problems. Only travelling together and getting stronger, goofing around and having fun. This was everything she had ever wanted and more.

Aliara was about to drift off when she felt someone touch her hand. Her green eyes popped open to stare at Killua's hand, which had grabbed on to hers.

He was holding her hand.

 _Holy crap holy crap-_

Face tinged red, she looked at Killua in surprise, only to find that he was blushing too. "Is this okay?" he whispered, avoiding her eyes and rubbing the back of his head with his free hand.

 _Was this okay? This was better than okay, oh my god-_

"Yes!" she managed, trying to keep her voice low but feeling embarrassed when her voice came dangerously close to a squeak. "Yes, this is great. I mean- okay."

"What?" he said with a laugh, smirking at her.

He was smirking again, dammit. Aliara wouldn't be surprised if he could hear how loudly her heart was beating. Red with embarrassment, she turned away, clutching his hand. Killua squeezed her hand briefly.

It had been... what, a month? More?... since Killua had kissed her on the cheek and rendered her speechless. Then he had smirked at her, winked, and dashed off. They never really had any time alone after that, because of all the training they'd been doing. Besides the few moments they had alone in the tunnels when Gon was taking the wheelbarrow out.

It had been a month.

Had it really been that long? Time seemed to fly by.

What bothered her was that he had kissed her on the cheek and then smirked. _The cocky little brat..._

"Killua?" she whispered, preparing herself.

"Yeah?"

Aliara turned to face him and pressed her lips to his cheek, nothing but a brief peck before she leaned away. To her satisfaction, Killua's cheeks were flushed and he didn't seem to know what to say. "That's for kissing me when I didn't expect it," she said firmly, taking pride in the dark red that burned on Killua's cheeks.

"But- you-"

She squeezed his hand. "Shut up. Go to sleep." And for good measure, she smirked at him before turning away and shutting her eyes, feeling triumphant.

"So that was revenge?" he mused, but she didn't respond. "I could get used to that."

And then her cheeks _burned,_ and Killua laughed, and they fell asleep holding hands.

* * *

 **xenocanaan:** I'm so glad you enjoyed, thank you so much! :)

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 **AHHHHHHHH:** I'm so glad you liked that part, thank you for your enthusiastic review! :D

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 **robertastarcris11:** THANK YOUUU! :D

 **Keep Calm and Be Ninja:** Thank you for pointing that out. I was becoming aware of that the longer I wrote the chapter, and it's becoming harder and harder to throw unique things in. But thank you for pointing that out, I'll definitely be more wary. I'M SO GLAD YOU LIKED IT! Thank you so much for your review! :)

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 **Thank you for over 400 reviews! (Special thanks to _kitsunelover300_ , thank you so much!) Thank you so so much for well over 250 follows and 200 favorites, I love you all so much! Thank you! :)**


	51. Leaving

**Chapter** **51: Leaving**

Rocks.

They were... _breaking..._ rocks. On other rocks.

Aliara didn't understand the point of the exercise until she got to one hundred. They had to use some of the different nen forms they'd learned about to prevent the rock they were using from breaking, but it got tiring and repetitive.

"One hundred forty one," Aliara said with a sigh as the rock crumbled to pieces.

"Darn it," Gon said as his rock shattered. "I was only at one hundred fifty."

Killua was still going, but it wasn't long before his rock broke apart too. "One hundred eighty nine! I suck!"

 _"You_ suck?" Aliara scoffed, crossing her arms. "You beat me by fifty!"

"Forty eight," he corrected.

"Same difference!"

Bisky laughed at them before telling them that even over one hundred was incredible on their first try. When she held up a finger and the trio called out "six!" in unison, Gon thought it would be a great idea to play rock-paper-scissors, so the loser would do five hundred push ups and sit ups. Aliara won, surprisingly, and the boys were rapidly doing their punishment when the blonde girl explained a bit about the rock-paper-scissors game, like its history. Honestly, Aliara wasn't exactly listening, but she did laugh when Killua made a crack about Bisky's age and she sent him flying.

Gon was frowning at his fist, a look of pure concentration on his face. "You okay, Gon?" Aliara called.

"Yes!" the dark-haired boy said enthusiastically, turning to a larger rock and shifting into a fighting stance. With a mighty cry, Gon thrust his fist at the rock and the boulder broke easily, cracking as if it was glass.

Killua and Aliara shared a surprised look as Gon shook out his hand, turning to Bisky.

 _So this is Gon's nen,_ Aliara mused to herself as Gon tried to explain how he wanted to use rock paper scissors as his nen ability. _It's so straightforward, just like him._ And Gon was a reinforcement type, so it would work especially well. Bisky started talking about what kind of training he should do when Killua cleared his throat. "Ahem."

They all turned to Killua. There was a tiny smile on his face as he pushed his hands out in front of him. With a spark, little bolts of electricity started to dart from Killua's hands. "That's all I have for now," he said with a grin, "but the electric power increases when I charge it."

"That's so cool!" Aliara blurted out as the electricity vanished. She'd known that Killua was immune to electricity, so he put it to good use... Just like she had done with her fire. "Wow." Her cheeks went red, but she forced the heat down. Killua grinned cheekily at her.

"You're like an electric eel!" Gon piped up.

"What?!"

The two boys started bickering as Aliara laughed, sliding her backpack off her shoulder. Bisky had a troubled look on her face that changed to content after a few seconds. Aliara exhaled slowly.

"I think I've got mine too," she said quickly, which drew all eyes to her. Trying not to squirm, Aliara clenched her hands into fists and concentrated. With a crack, her hands erupted in flame that was much brighter and hotter than before- all the nen training much be doing something for her.

She enjoyed the surprise in their eyes before she added, "I'm trying to figure out what else I can do with it. I've got an idea, but when I tried it before, I wasn't strong enough. I'll try again soon."

"Fire," Killua said, "that's why your hands are so burned!"

Aliara nodded vigorously. "Yep!" Killua looked like he was about to interrupt again but she already knew what he was going to say. "And I know I can't... well, _feel_ the heat, but it can still burn my skin and such. So!"

She extinguished the flames, shaking out her hands. Aliara reached into her bag and tugged out her gloves, sliding them on quickly. Bisky's expression was one of sadness and pity and Aliara didn't appreciate that.

Concentrating again, Aliara's hand ignited- but only around her palms. The beautiful flames danced in her palms, above the large circle that used to be a sticky pad.

"Rubber," she said proudly. "I've lined as much as I can with rubber, because rubber can't carry the heat. It's a thin layer, but it works and I can still use my gloves, and the laser, just fine."

"Wow!" Gon was the first to voice his opinion, throwing his hands in the air. "You're a human torch!"

"I'm a what now?!"

"That's amazing," Killua said, grabbing her hands (after she had made the flames vanish, of course). "You even accounted for the gloves and everything."

Aliara stared at him, a genuine smile stretching across her face. He meant it, his compliment. They both did- she could see it in their eyes. "Thank you," she said meaningfully, turning to Gon. "Thank you!"

"Well, should we rest for the day?" Bisky put in, turning to the three of them. "It's a bit early, but shall we have a party?"

The trio stared at her in confusion.

Aliara suddenly realized- Killua was still holding her hands, and she was enjoying it. _Kill me now-_

"You were so concentrated on your training, you didn't even realize," Bisky said, chuckling. "Time passes the same in here as it does in the real world. It'll be New Year's soon."

"The Hunter Exam!" Gon cried out, which made Killua drop Aliara's hands. "Wait- what's the date?"

"December 29th," Bisky said helpfully.

"Registration finishes on the 31st!" Gon said, waving his arms above his head in an exaggerated panic. "We have to figure out how to leave the game."

"...What?" the black-haired girl said slowly.

Killua shrugged. "We can go get our Hunter's licenses now."

They began to discuss transport, timing, and dates, but Aliara had them all tuned out. Her Hunter's license? The sole reason she had taken the exam in the first place was so she could manage without her mother's money after she ran away. And that had been crushed when she'd been disqualified... Truly, she was a lot more upset than she let Killua realize- he was already feeling guilty about it enough.

She could actually get her license. That was something they'd only dreamed about at home, her and Ano- getting something that, in their eyes, was the key to their freedom. Ano would be proud. The only ones in their family who had their licenses were Kuro, Yuno, and Iyami. Fukinoro was set to go get his in two years- this was when she had decided to run away, so only a year now- and Aliara and Ano were going to go two years after him. But that was far too long.

She almost started grinning. _I can't wait until Ano finds out._

"Ali?"

The black-haired girl blinked herself out of her thoughts and looked up. "Yeah?"

"You good to go?" Gon asked, smiling brightly.

She nodded. "Always."

* * *

They arrived at Masadora, where they were told to go fifty kilometers west to find a unique port with an incredibly unreasonable and grumpy man who would demand a crazy price for their departure. Their second option was a spell card.

Naturally, they picked the more difficult option, the port (the risk with purchasing a spell card was that it could've reached its maximum number of transformations, and could be a crazy amount of money on top of that), and they were running again. For a fourth time (was it actually the fourth? Aliara couldn't remember), they were leaving Masadora without actually getting anything.

They fought monsters on the way- a personal highlight for Aliara was the werewolves. She'd always been a fan of wolves; they were deadly but gorgeous creatures that hunted their prey efficiently. Even when she took down a smaller werewolf and it transformed into a card, Aliara couldn't help but admire the elegance in their violent fighting style.

They reached the port, where she and Killua beat up the man that was there with no difficulty. With a 'passing ticket' card clenched in her hand, Aliara stood next to Killua in the middle of the plaza in the tiny town. "So, we're good to go?"

Killua nodded, then turned to Gon and Bisky. The dark-haired boy said brightly, "Near the port of Dore, in a mountain with a solitary cryptomeria tree, a weird magic monster lives. If you tell him you're one of my friends, he should bring you to the meeting place."

"And don't forget to keep training!" Bisky added.

They both nodded. Gon jumped over to Aliara and hugged her enthusiastically. "Good luck!"

Beaming, Aliara hugged him back. "Have fun with Bisky."

Gon leaped at Killua next, surprising the poor boy so much that Killua was almost knocked off his feet. "Bye, Killua! I'll be stronger when you guys get back!"

"Counting on it," Killua said with a laugh as Gon detached himself. Before he got far, Gon leaned in and whispered something to Killua that Aliara couldn't catch, and judging by the way Killua's face went red, it was about her.

"Hey, secrets don't make friends," she complained, crossing her arms.

Killua's face went even redder as Gon chimed, "don't worry! It won't stay a secret for long!" The white-haired boy smacked Gon as the boy danced away, grinning.

Bisky even gave Aliara a quick hug ("Kick his ass if he acts like an idiot!") and then they walked away, Gon walking backwards so he could wave frantically. She waved back, grinning. Aliara couldn't remember the last time she'd had such a happy good bye... Maybe when Leorio left. Anytime before that? Not really.

As they turned away, Aliara threw one last glance over her shoulder to confirm that this was really happening.

"You good to go?" Killua asked, glancing at her briefly, the red that had originally been on his cheeks absent.

She nodded, smiling. "Let's go get our licenses."

In a flash of light, Aliara left the world of cards behind her.

* * *

After conversing with a small girl who looked similar (but not identical) to the girl from the beginning, and selecting her starting place as the port of Dore, she landed on a small sidewalk in a what looked to be like any other town she'd ever been in. Frowning, Aliara murmured, "Book!" but nothing happened. She really was out of the game. A second later, there was a flash of light as Killua landed next to her. "We're out of the game?" he asked, studying his ring.

She nodded. "Yeah, I tried 'book' but nothing happened."

He nodded, having expected that outcome, and then started walking past her. "Let's go. We can find some place to register."

"Right," she agreed, walking after him.

They navigated through the town easily, staying silent, until Aliara's curiosity couldn't be contained any longer. "Killua, what did Gon whisper to you before you left?"

"Uh..." Killua rubbed the back of his head, "Well..."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine then. Don't tell me."

"No, I have to tell you," Killua argued. "I just can't figure out how. And not right now."

"What's so bad that you can't tell me right away?" Aliara complained, smacking Killua lightly across his shoulder.

He smirked. "You're not being very patient."

"My mother used to tell me patience is a virtue," the black-haired girl said with a laugh, recalling the many snarky comebacks she'd used when she was younger. "And I used to respond by saying, 'a virtue that I'm in desperate need of'."

"You're kidding," Killua said with a short laugh, jamming his hands in his pockets.

"Nope. I-" Aliara stopped short. "Oh, we're here."

Registration was simple; they only had to go online on the computers in the small cafe. People kept shooting them weird looks, but neither of them really cared. Once they both had registered, they each got a sheet of paper with the necessary information on the front. "Biisukafumaro?" Aliara read aloud, turning to Killua. "Where's that?"

"No clue," he replied with a shrug. "But first, we should probably have a shower and get changed."

Aliara raised an eyebrows before she studied Killua and herself. They were both covered in dust and grime. "Is that why everyone keeps giving us weird looks?" she mused.

"You realize that only now?"

"Oh, shut up."

After folding the papers and tucking them in Aliara's bag and ignoring the growing number of strange glances, they set off again. "Where're we going to go?" she asked.

Killua frowned. "I didn't really think of that."

"Idiot," she scolded with a smirk, shaking her head.

"Okay then, what do you think we should do, if you're so smart?"

"Bisky said the exam didn't start until the seventh," Aliara said without missing a beat, smirking, "so we have a little over a week. I suggest we get a hotel room for the night, because then we have access- _legal_ access- to showers and a decently safe spot for the night. We can leave tomorrow to find the monster thingy that Gon was talking about." She smiled at Killua, who looked like he'd just tasted something sour. "Is that fine?"

"What do you mean, legal access?" he said, glaring at her. "You think I'd break into someone's house just to shower?"

Aliara grinned. "You said it, not me."

Killua scowled, but his scowl morphed into a small smile. "Fine. Let's find a hotel room."

It didn't take them long to find a hotel. The building was decently sized and wasn't very fancy, but it was kind of cozy and Aliara liked that. On top of that, the man at the front desk didn't even question her when she said she wanted a room for two (maybe it was because she handed him a considerable sum of money...) and he happily gave her a key to a room with two single beds.

"It's nice room," Aliara remarked when they reached room 509. It was an average-sized room with a rather large bathroom and two beds with an armchair in one corner.

Killua shrugged. "Yeah, it's fine. You want to shower first?"

She nodded. "I'm going to go out and get food afterwards."

"Ladies first," Killua said with an over dramatic gesture with his arms. Aliara rolled her eyes and set to go rid herself of the rather large amount of dirt she'd worked up. Her shower was brief but left her feeling refreshed afterwards. She changed into the spare black hoodie and navy blue jeans she'd packed and brushed her hair out.

Her hair was getting crazy long. Like, past-her-hips kind of long. She'd had it up for the past ... what, year? She couldn't seem to remember willingly leaving it down for a day. There was the one time, with her family dinner, and the other time when Killua came to apologize in her room at battle tower, and when they did the arm wrestling booth... she hadn't really noticed how long it was getting.

She ought to cut it.

"Hey, Killua?" she called out as she pushed the bathroom door open, grabbing a clean towel for Killua on her way out. Aliara nearly face-palmed as she realized he was doing push-ups in the middle of the floor. "How long have you been doing this?"

"Ever since you started your shower," he called back, dropping into another push-up easily. He popped back up to his feet. "Am I..."

"What?" she demanded, feeling self conscious.

He shook his head. "It's just... Your hair. It's getting really long."

"I think I might cut it soon," Aliara pondered, grabbing one side of her hair and pulling it down. Crap, it was getting crazy long.

"You never wear it down," he murmured. "You should."

Aliara tried to brush it off. "Yeah right," she snorted. "With how long it is, it always gets in the way, so I leave it up."

His hand moved to the top of her head. She looked up and tried to meet his eyes, but he wasn't really looking at her. He was studying her hair, running his fingers along her scalp. They were really really close, and Aliara could've sworn her heart was attempting to break out of her chest considering how close he was. "What?" she breathed, too nervous to say anything else.

"It's nice," he said finally, but his words carried much more volume than that. Then Aliara realized he was almost... leaning in?

"Shower!" she squeaked, nearly headbutting Killua as she threw a towel at him. "Shower, shower, shower! I'll grab go food! No- I'll go grab food!"

"R- Right!" Killua stammered, backing up and almost tripping over his own feet. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll do that."

He disappeared into the bathroom. Aliara threw herself out the door to the room faster than she could blink. She leaped down the stairs and out into the street, then finally paused and leaned against the building wall, sighing.

He looked like he was going to kiss her.

And suddenly, Aliara really wish he had.

* * *

 **xenocannan:** Aaaaaah! I'm so glad you liked it! :)

 **YourHomeGirlJen:** Ooo, I'm SO ready for the wicked battle scenes! Gotta get my way through some fluff first ;) I'm so glad you enjoy sly Gon, this boy is totally the reason that Killua and Aliara are where they are now. Thank you for your review! :D

 **Keep Calm and Be Ninja:** THANK YOU! Thank you thank you thank you! Your reviews always make me smile, I'm so glad you're enjoying it. Thank you! :D

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 **Woofie-chan:** First of all, thank you for your review! It makes me so happy to get reviews from people that say they don't review often, it's so nice :D Second, I'm so glad you enjoy it! I'm trying my best for regular updates, but (especially in this fandom!) many stories seem to be abandoned beyond return sometimes. Thanks again, I'm so happy you enjoy my story! :)

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 **At Night We Rise:** Eeeeeee thank you! I'm so happy you're enjoying it! :D :)

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 **Oof:** These poor dorks needed a bit of a... push, you could say, and Gon was totally right there. Thank you! I'm so happy you're enjoying it! :)

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 **Night Owl:** You're such a sweetheart, thank you so much! I'm so glad you like them! :D :)

 **Can I just say a quick thank you? Your response and enthusiasm to the last few chapters has been almost overwhelming, I've never been so happy, thank you :) :) :) And thank you for over 260 follows! The follower count just keeps climbing, which is rare considering how far into the story I am. I can't believe this, thank you :D**

 **As for what Gon whispered to Killua?... See you next week ;)**


	52. Kiss

**Chapter** **52: Kiss**

Aliara only later realized that she had never been in a grocery store before.

She'd been holed up in a mansion all of her life, so naturally she'd never been out of the house to buy food- let alone cook it. Not that they needed much- both she and Killua didn't need to eat much to keep their energy up. Aliara carefully watched what other people did- picking boxes off shelves to keep in a cart, taking fruit they wanted and putting it in a bag, talking to vendors about certain types of meat.

Apparently, there was a hunt for the best food too. She watched countless people push aside lettuce heads and grab ones at the bottom, skip through meats until they found one that was good enough, or carefully inspect an apple under the light. Odd.

"People," Aliara decided, "are crazy."

Realizing that Killua would be waiting for her, Aliara zipped through the aisles, nabbing things that she knew she liked and trying to guess at what Killua would like. She found a shelf with candies and chocolates on it and grabbed a bunch of the little chocolate balls that Killua loved. Shoveling item after item in her bag, Aliara checked her pockets to see if she had enough money before she lined up. She did.

The cashier gave her a funny look but she glared heavily at him and he said nothing, only sneered at her. "That's 2,650 jennis," he said, staring at her pointedly, like he didn't expect her to have enough.

Aliara's blood boiled. Call her petty, but this guy was really annoying. She slapped 10,000 jennis- which was literally just one bill- and said swiftly, "I want change."

He didn't really sneer at her after that.

Getting back to their hotel room was easy. Aliara weaved around the crowd of people in the lobby and took the stairs in a flash, finding their room and fumbling with the key. She shoved open the door, calling, "I'm back!" and proceeded to plunk the bag of food down on the closest bed, shutting the door behind her.

"Food?" Killua piped up eagerly, hoping off the armchair where he had been sitting. "You took a while."

Aliara flushed. "...There was a long line."

Killua didn't question her as he dug through the bag, pulling out apples and cracker boxes before he shouted, "Chocolate! My favorite kind!" He pulled out seven boxes- okay, maybe she'd bought a bit much- and turned to her, surprised. "How'd you know these were my favorites?"

"You mentioned it once," Aliara replied without missing a beat, pulling out a rather large bag of gummies that she loved.

"You remembered?" he asked.

The black-haired girl turned to him, glaring in order to hide her blush. "Do you want them or not?"

"Fine, fine," Killua grumbled, opening one of the cracker boxes.

Their so-called 'dinner' was really random but amusing. Her food choices weren't meal-worthy, but they were tasty snacks that neither of them complained about. Killua mumbled his thanks as he nibbled on his chocolates and Aliara couldn't help but smile. He really did look adorable.

After that, Aliara pulled her bag open and started tinkering with her gloves. She had to make sure the rubber was solid all the way around or she could risk ruining the gloves, and badly hurting her hands. Killua took to training- push-ups and sit-ups. They both worked in silence, for the most part, and his level of dedication to his training really impressed Aliara. She could remember times where she'd slacked off at home, just to piss her mother off, but Killua took it seriously.

"Take a break, will you?" she called after her got through a thousand push-ups for a third time. "You're making me tired."

"How does that make sense?" Killua complained. Nevertheless, he hopped up to his feet, looking completely fine for someone who had been doing push-ups nonstop for the last ten minutes. Smiling, Aliara turned back to her gloves, sliding them on and letting her palms burst into flame. She couldn't feel anything. Good.

"Hey, Ali."

Aliara jerked her head up. Killua was standing by the window in their room, with the curtain drawn back. He beckoned to her, so she took her gloves off and put her tools in her bag before walking over to join Killua.

He pointed. She looked outside at the sky. "Wow," she breathed. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the stars were shining brightly. "It's gorgeous."

Killua seemed to stare at her for a few moments longer than necessary before he said, "you wanna go to the roof?"

"Yes," she said immediately, pushing the window open and pushing herself out. Killua smirked and followed her out, and soon the two of them were scaling the side of the wall easily. The building wasn't very tall, so they made it up in a flash.

The white-haired boy flopped back on the roof, staring up at the sky and tucking his hands behind his head. "This is nice."

Aliara wanted to agree, but the words were stuck in her throat, so she just nodded and lay down next to him. This reminded her of the time she, Gon, and Killua had adventured into the forest on Whale Island and stayed up all night telling stories, sharing secrets, and just enjoying each other's company.

Killua seemed to think the same thing because he laughed, "this reminds me of when we were on Whale Island."

The dark-haired girl smiled. "Yeah. Except this time, Gon's not here."

She missed him. She missed his bright smile, his happy-go-lucky personality and his optimism. But she'd see him soon, and for now, she should enjoy the time she had with Killua. They had plenty of time.

"You think he's doing okay?" Killua said, his gaze never leaving the sky.

Aliara watched a tiny red dot flash across the sky. Probably a plane. "Of course," she said with a grin. "He's got Bisky with him. I miss him though."

"Me too," he agreed. "We'll see him soon."

"Yeah."

She liked Killua. A lot. And judging by the hugs and cheek-kisses they'd shared, she was pretty sure he felt the same. Of course, she wouldn't be sure unless he flat out said it. Maybe he'd changed his mind. Maybe he was actually really bored, sitting up here and talking to her.

Aliara laughed, memories springing into her head. "I remember saying that I was supposed to get married, and you guys freaked out."

"Yeah," he said with a grin. "I can't believe you dropped a bomb like that on us."

"I didn't think it'd be that much of a shock," she admitted, smiling wryly. "Some of my older siblings are already married off. Kuro's married to this girl I met once, who's about four years younger than him. He just got married when I ran away, but he's still going to stay with us until he's 22. Then he'll move out and live with her."

"That's crazy," Killua said slowly. "You're so young."

"Yeah," she agreed. "The girls get married off a lot younger though. Iyami's been married for three years, which is kind of scary. I don't even know who it's with, just that it's another check in my mother's list of places to slowly take over."

"So who were you supposed to get married to?"

Aliara paused. "To be completely honest, I forget."

Killua laughed.

"I'm serious!" she insisted with a grin. "He was a year or so older than me, so we'd be officially married, but I wouldn't have to live with him for a while. And... I can't remember his name. But he seemed like a bit of a wimp."

"Not your type?"

"Definitely not," Aliara agreed.

"So," Killua said, almost sounding nervous, "what is your type, then?"

"Well," she mused, pretending to think it over. This was it, this was her chance. "Well, I don't like wimps, I know that much. Someone who is strong and capable and loyal, I guess. But at the same time, he should probably be able to understand that I'm strong too, you know? And he should probably be funny. I like humor."

"Really," he said absently, tilting his head and smirking at her.

"How about you," Aliara suggested, grinning at him.

Killua huffed. "Well, I don't know."

"Oh, come on," she said with a laugh. "I told you!"

"Fine," he agreed, tilting his head up to the sky. "I think I'd want someone strong. I don't want to be looking after her the entire time. I mean, I'm not asking her to be invincible, and I don't mind being depended on. I'd definitely help her if she needed it. And I think I'd want her to be passionate, funny, and smart. You know, have some interests and not be afraid to talk to me."

"You're getting oddly specific," she said boldly, not daring to look at him.

"So how about you specify then?" Killua said without hesitating, grinning.

Aliara rolled her eyes. "Revenge, hmm?" He hummed in confirmation. "Fine. He should be able to have fun, willing to tease me or his friends. And he definitely needs to be smart, I don't think I could handle a stupid guy."

Killua laughed. "Really?"

"Obviously," she scoffed, smiling. "When you have five brothers, your expectations can be a bit weird."

"I bet," he agreed. "I've got a few sisters too, so I think I can understand."

They sat in silence for a minute. Aliara watched the stars, admiring them. She loved stars. Almost unconsciously, she let her hand drift down and felt it come in contact with Killua's hand. He gently took her hand, and she held on tight, warmth flooding through her body.

He was talking about her after all.

"So," she said abruptly, "what did Gon whisper into your ear before you left?"

Killua coughed, stiffening, and she squeezed his hand, laughing. "You didn't forget?" he said with exasperation. "Darn."

"What is it?" Aliara asked again.

He exhaled slowly, and she tilted her head, studying his face. God, he was pretty. "Well, Gon and I made a bet."

"A bet," she repeated.

He nodded. "Remember back when we were trying to raise money for Greed Island?" Aliara nodded. "Well, Gon ended up earning more than I did. And the agreement was that the loser had to do any one thing the winner said."

Killua paused, fighting for the words to say. Aliara piped up, "what did he make you do?"

"I haven't done it yet," he said with a shake of his head. "I was... I, well... I was supposed to tell you how I felt about you."

Aliara felt her cheeks flame, but sensing that Killua wasn't done, she kept her mouth shut.

"I mean, I thought I'd made it pretty obvious," he said quickly. Aliara noticed the blush that was occupying his cheeks. "But I never really... well, _told_ you anything, as Gon pointed out."

"You've been giving Gon updates?" Aliara said with a laugh.

Killua chuckled. "Yeah. He kept egging me on."

Aliara couldn't believe it. Well... never mind, she could. "It's the same thing on my end," she giggled.

"You're kidding," he said with disbelief.

There was a pause, and then they both burst into laughter. Of _course_ Gon would do something like that. Aliara should've known he'd be relaying everything to Killua and then giving her hints on what she should do next.

"Wow, Gon," Aliara breathed, grinning up at the night sky.

"He's crazy," Killua remarked.

There was a pause.

"So?" Aliara prompted.

"So what?" Killua scoffed, blushing.

She couldn't help but grin. "You haven't held up your end of the bet yet."

"But- You- But you..." he trailed off, and Aliara was enjoying the dark red that was occupying Killua's face. Even in the dark, the dim light from the streets was enough to see. She squeezed his hand again, and he squeezed back. "Well, you know, don't you?"

"No," Aliara said breezily, twisting her head and grinning at him. She propped herself up on her elbows, still clutching his hand. "I'm completely oblivious."

Killua huffed in frustration, propping himself up on his elbows too. He frowned at her. "I hate you."

"No, you don't," Aliara sang with a smile.

Killua couldn't help but smile. He loved her smile. "No, I don't," he agreed, shifting himself slightly.

The black-haired girl bit her lip. "So?"

He gathered what little courage he could muster and turned to her, managing a small smile. "Well, I think I like you."

"You think?" she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Ouch." Internally, Aliara wanted to die. They were still holding hands, and here was the boy of her dreams, confessing that he _liked her_ on the rooftop, gazing at the stars. _He likes me. He actually does._

"Okay," he breathed. The space between them was gradually getting smaller. "I like you."

"Thank god," Aliara said with a bit of a laugh.

"What?"

"I like you too," she blurted out, feeling the weight fly off her shoulders upon the confession.

Killua almost sighed in relief, but he composed himself enough to say, "well, at least it's not one sided."

Aliara shrugged, face flushed. "What can I say? It was kind of hard not to." Killua quirked his eyebrows, but Aliara forged on. "I mean, you're one of the strongest people I know, and even though there's a new horror every week with my wonderful life, you just..." she threw her other hand in the air dramatically. "You're always there. No matter what. And you don't constantly judge me."

The red on her cheeks was evident, Killua saw that much. He squeezed her hand, because he knew that it wasn't easy to say stuff like this all the time. "Same to you," he said quietly, watching her eyes widen. "You're crazy strong. I mean, it's kind of scary sometimes. And you... even when you first realized who I was, you didn't freak out or judge me."

"I hid the bodies in the supply closet," Aliara realized.

Killua nodded. "Yeah. And you're always getting yourself into trouble, so you're a pain, honestly-" At this, Aliara punched him in the arm with her free hand- "Oi, that hurt. Anyways. And you... You always get this smile on your face and this look in your eyes when you're building something or talking about what you've built. It's like this sparkle."

"Sparkle," she repeated.

"Well, maybe not sparkle," he admitted sheepishly. "But... You know."

Aliara shifted slightly, and now they were really close. Almost shoulder to shoulder. "Whenever we go out," she said quietly, causing him to look at her, "like for ice cream or food or training or anything, you always get this smile. Like when you're genuinely enjoying yourself. And it makes me happy to know that... that you find that happiness with us."

Killua smiled softly. "You're really good at this. The whole 'saying your feelings' thing."

"Yeah, you suck."

"Hey!"

"It took you, what, six months?"

"Five!"

They turned to each other and grinned, close enough so their noses were almost touching. Killua seemed to think for a second, studying her intently. She stared back, trying to identify the different emotions fluttering through his face.

He leaned in, and his lips met her cheek. His lips were warm.

Aliara nearly froze up, remembering when he had done the same thing a month ago.

Killua pulled back with a soft smile on his face. "Thanks. For-"

"No," she said firmly, shaking her head. "Not this time."

"What?!"

Aliara leaned in and pressed her mouth against Killua's and let the rest of the world fade away. She had her eyes squeezed shut, mostly of nerves more than anything, and almost sighed in relief when he responded, moving his lips slowly against hers.

It felt like an eternity before they pulled away.

"Jerk," he huffed, smirking at her.

"Moron," she countered softly, punching him lightly in the arm.

They eventually climbed back to their room, holding hands most of the way, smiling at each other the entire time. They hugged before they separated to go to their own beds (Killua kissed her on the cheek and Aliara almost melted) and the black-haired girl fell asleep grinning.

* * *

 **RedBurningDragon:** For sure. Thanks for your review! :)

 **The Otaku Lady Priya:** I hope this was satisfactory ;) Thank you so much for your review, I love hearing from you! :D

 **xenocanaan:** Now you know ;) Thank you so much for your review! :D

 **Night Owl:** I love Gon so much. I agree. Thank you so much! :)

 **Oof:** I'm so happy you're enjoying it! Yes, I'm trying to keep this ongoing, because I see too many good fanfics nowadays that aren't. As for names? That was probably the hardest part about starting the story, not going to lie. It was so difficult. I recommend trying different websites, searching up names, finding translations. It helps. Thank you for your review! :D

 **robertastarcris11:** ME TOO ME TOO XD Thank you so much! :D

 **Keep Calm and Be Ninja:** I hope you liked this chapter, then ;) Thank you so much for your review! I too am looking forward to their exam. Thank you! :) :)

 **IceMagic896:** Thank you! I'm so glad you think so, when I started I wasn't sure if was going to be cliche or not. Thank you for your review! :D

 **PinkSpace:** I agree! Thank you so much! :)

 **Yozora531:** So true. Thank you so much for your review! :D

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 **havanatitiana:** Aaaah! I'm so happy you enjoyed, thank you so much! :)

 **I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED READING THIS AS MUCH AS I DID WRITING IT!**


	53. Exam

**Chapter** **53: Exam**

They woke up early the next day and set off for the hut in the woods that was supposed to have someone who could help them get to the Hunter's exam, according to Gon. Aliara was in a great mood, nearly skipping as they jogged up the forest path. Eventually, it became almost like a game- they took to the tree tops and jumped through those. She nearly slipped once, but it was too much fun for her to care.

Hair whipping in her face, Aliara landed on the forest floor in step with Killua, right in front of a large cottage-like building. "This must be it," Killua mused, taking the steps two at a time. She followed him as he knocked on the door.

A small girl opened the door.

 _...Where are all the monsters that Gon promised?_

"Hi," Aliara said awkwardly, lacing her fingers. "Uh, we're friends of Gon? He was an applicant last year for the Hunter exam. He said you could guide us to the hunter exam site."

The girl blinked a few times, then her face split into a grin. With a odd sort of twitch, her body lengthened and paled. Her nose grew into a long snout, and large ears sprouted from the top of her head. Her arms were long and thin, as were her legs, but there was plenty of muscle.

"You're a Kiriko!" Aliara gasped, eyes widening.

"Oh," the creature grunted, smirking at them. "You recognize me?"

"Only from stories," she said with a shake of her head.

Killua grinned. "Wow, you're bigger than I thought you'd be."

"Bring them in here!" A voice called from further in the cabin, and the Kiriko pulled the door open. Aliara and Killua shuffled into the room, eyeing the design and the other inhabitants. There were three other Kiriko, squatting on the carpet. One of them beckoned, so the pair sat down.

They were instantly attacked by a barrage of noses, sniffing at their clothes and their hair.

"Hey," Aliara said reflexively, almost swatting at them.

"Yup," one of them said cheerily, backing off. "They've both got Gon's smell on them."

Killua and Aliara shared a brief glance. They'd both showered...

"We can get you to the exam," one of the Kiriko said cheerily, "but not for three days. We can get you there for the day the exam begins, with a couple hours to spare. Is that fine?" Aliara and Killua both nodded- it wasn't like they had many other options. "Perfect. But, in the meantime, could you tell us what Gon's been up to? We haven't seen him in a while."

Aliara grinned. "Well, he got his license."

A few of the Kiriko grinned. "Not a surprise," one of them commented, grinning. "He was quite the force to be reckoned with."

"We went back to his hometown," Killua said, and then the story took off from there.

She grinned. It was odd, sharing stories with a bunch of long-limbed yellow furry creatures. But at the same time, it was kind of amusing.

Aliara couldn't wait for the exam.

* * *

She didn't have to wait long.

The Kirikos flew them to the exam location, which Aliara didn't bother paying much attention to, as long as they got there. The Kirikos disguised themselves and proceeded to lead them to a tall department store building. "It was nice to meet you," one of them said warmly, sticking out a hand. Aliara shook it. "Good luck."

"Thank you for all you've done," Aliara said gratefully.

"Go to room 503 and ask, 'Am I at Mihearu-san's?' and follow whatever instructions he gives you," the other one said, waving. "Good luck! Say hi to Gon for us."

Aliara didn't remembering accessing the hunter exam to be this tedious last year. Last year, it had been fairly simple- she'd tailed a guy who had made it clear he was going to the hunter exam and had the strength to back up his boasts. This year? Go to Mihearu's, get instructions, go shopping at a specific store and buy a certain item, use a certain card to pay for the item and go to the back room.

It was long (and Aliara hated the shopping bit) but eventually, the store clerk held out a door for them, offering them numbered tags. "This way, please."

Killua opened the door, and Aliara followed.

The room was more crowded than last year. Her tag number was 1220- over 1200 people already? How were planning to narrow this down? They'd probably make them fight each other. Aliara hiked her backpack up on her shoulders. Last year, she had been a bit arrogant, eager to avoid her home and anything to do with her name, and ready to see how good she actually was. Now? With Killua by her side, she had no doubt that they would pass.

"You think there's anyone we know?" Killua said, turning to her.

Aliara's eyes darted across the room and settled on a stout man clutching a can of juice between his stubby fingers. "I think so," she said with a smirk, glaring daggers at Tonpa, who visibly shuddered and ducked away.

"You sure?" he mused, walking through the crowd.

"Yo."

Aliara turned around, staring at the faces of three tall men who looked similar- brothers. The Amori brothers from last year that she and Killua had beaten on the island in the fourth phase.

"So you guys failed too?" the one with the hat taunted. "You really got us last year."

"It'll be different this year," the shortest one promised. "We've trained like maniacs since then. You can't underestimate us."

Aliara hid a smirk and she turned to Killua and saying, "Killua, do we know these guys?"

Killua turned to face her, studied them, and shrugged. "No."

"What?!"

She giggled behind her hand as they weaved away, putting some distance between themselves and the three brothers. "Wait," Killua hissed, "did we actually know them?" When Aliara laughed, Killua couldn't help but smirk.

He watched in surprise as the laugh was wiped clean from her face as Aliara shuffled backwards. "Killua," she urged quietly, and the white-haired boy immediately backed up.

"What is it?" he asked quietly.

"My brother," she breathed, her breath hitching as she spoke. Fukinoro.

Killua's eyes widened. "Crap."

The doors on the far side of the room opened, and a tall man with a crazy suit and a belt with a skull on it stepped out. "Welcome, everyone. 1489 people have reached the exam room this year," he said loudly. "But after this, only 300 will be remaining."

Aliara's eyes widened. That was a big cut.

"How shall we proceed..." the man mumbled rhetorically, already knowing how this would play out. "What if we make you fight each other?"

"Called it," Aliara whispered.

Killua rolled his eyes.

"We have plenty of time," the man continued, but Aliara's mind was elsewhere. According to her family's schedule, Fukinoro wasn't scheduled to take the exam until next year. So why would he be here a year early? Her mother was very strict on schedules. Unless...

"Shit," Aliara cursed quietly, grabbing Killua's arm. "He's here for me."

"What?" he hissed.

She swallowed nervously. "He shouldn't be taking the hunter exam until next year. But my mother knew I'd failed the exam last year, so she figured I'd come back to try again. I wouldn't be surprised if she pushed his exam up a year so that he could find me."

"Well, you haven't exactly been easy to hunt down," Killua said with a shrug. "She was planning ahead."

"Okay," Aliara said to herself. "Okay, I'm going to be fine."

"You are," Killua assured her, squeezing her hand. "He's not going to touch you as long as I'm here."

Aliara felt herself flood with warmth as she squeezed back, smiling softly. "I'll deal with him."

Killua nodded, not even asking if she was sure. He knew she was.

The announcer dude said something about five tags each, having two hours, and the exam starting as soon as he shut the door. Killua said quickly, "I'll take the left."

"I've got right," she replied.

The door shut, and they both split up.

Aliara dashed by participant after participant, practicing the method she'd learned so long ago for her assassination training. A sharp pinch to the back of the neck, and the victim would be knocked out, paralyzed, for at least half a day, depending on how much force you applied. Aliara zipped around in a blur, stabbing her thumbs into the back of people's necks without even realizing who each person was.

Until the atmosphere shifted slightly, and Aliara instinctively ducked.

Fukinoro's fist sailed straight over her head.

Aliara spun and hoofed her right foot at his side, which he blocked, so she faked twice with her hands, once with her left foot, and a second time with her right before she sucker-punched him in the gut. It was like punching iron. Aliara gritted her teeth and twirled again, a backfist sailing straight at his head.

He ducked and danced back. Aliara backed up, pulling her hands up and paralyzing two other people near her so fast that she barely had time to blink.

"Mother knew you would come," he said quietly.

"I figured," she replied with a shrug, before lunging again.

Fukinoro was much better at stealth than straight-up force, while she had tried her best to be adapted to both. Thanks to her extensive training with Gon and Killua, Bisky, and Wing, she was much faster, smarter, and better than she used to be. Aliara faked with her right, lunged with her left and kicked up at the same time. Fukinoro twirled out of the way, his assassination training put to good use.

"What the hell?!" she heard someone cry out behind her. She felt eyes on them, people watching their fight in fear or awe.

"Oh, fuck off," Aliara grumbled, and she shoved Fukinoro away and danced into the ground, paralyzing the idiot that had spoken and moving on to the others around him. She immediately lunged back at the space where Fukinoro had been, but he had already zipped away.

She cursed but immediately set to work with finishing off more people, although the numbers had already decreased incredibly. Killua was incredibly fast, so much more so than she remembered, and she wondered if his nen being electricity had anything to do with it.

 _Nen._ Of course, why didn't she think of it before?

The crowd had almost completely thinned out, but alarm bells rang in Aliara's ears as she turned and thrust her fist at Fukinoro, who was trying to sneak up on her. He dodged, as she had expected, and soon they were back to exchanging blows with speed to rival the fastest sprinter.

"Noro," Aliara grunted, kicking him away and backing off. "Just leave me be."

"You're coming with me," he said, his voice soft and dangerously quiet. "Mother wants you home."

She scoffed. "She doesn't want _me._ She wants her daughter, her obedient little slave. I've grown up."

Fukinoro nodded, standing up straight. "You're much better than I remember you being."

"Thanks, I think."

"Ano's rebelling," her quiet brother said calmly, and Aliara's eyes widened. "Mother's been saying some nasty things regarding you and your absence and Ano has chosen to stand up for you, though I can't imagine why. He's had quite the large number of arguments with Mother."

Aliara's heart hammered in her chest as she realized how much she missed her brother. And Kirika and Iyami, for that matter. "Ano," she breathed, clenching her fists.

"You're much stupider than I remember," Fukinoro said, which only served to infuriate Aliara. "If you had any common sense, you'd come home."

"Home?" Aliara spat, flicking her wrist. Her hand ignited in flame, bright and brilliant. She didn't miss the way Fukinoro's eyes widened in surprise and he stepped back slightly. "You call that mansion a home?! Hell, Fukinoro, you've been brainwashed."

"We have money, education, and everything we could ever need," Fukinoro said cautiously, glancing warily at her flaming fist. "Yet you choose to throw that all away."

"Do we have freedom?" Aliara challenged without missing a beat, taking a step forward. "Do we have any choice with what we want to do with our lives, who we want to marry, what jobs we want, what hobbies we want? No! All my life I've wanted to build things, but no, apparently I'm going to be a master assassin instead."

"So you regret your training?"

"Never," Aliara promised, "Because it's got me where I am and it gave me the strength to break out of that hellhole. And you should do the same."

Fukinoro remained silent, but his eyes were trained on her flaming hand.

"Oh, this?" she said tauntingly, holding up her hand. "You can't learn everything from staying at home, moron."

"Aliara," Fukinoro said quietly, finally allowing his stone-cold eyes to rest on her face.

"Killua," Aliara snapped, "get him."

Fukinoro crumpled as Killua slammed his thumb into the back of his neck. Her brother collapsed to the floor, and only then did Aliara notice that everyone else was already passed out, and probably had been for a minute or so. She flicked her wrist again, and the flames died.

"Hey," Killua said cautiously, tapping her on the shoulder, almost like he was afraid she'd whip around and backhand him into the wall. "You okay?"

Aliara felt like breaking down and just huddling on the floor for an hour.

...Well, maybe not.

"Yeah," she said, turning and smiling at him. "Yeah, I think I am."

"I know you said you wanted to take him on yourself-"

"I asked you for your help in the end," Aliara interjected, shaking her head at him. "Thank you, though."

Killua grinned at her, but his smile started to fade slightly as he asked, "Ali? How did you know your nen would surprise him so much? He seemed pretty shocked, especially for someone that you've claimed to be stone-faced."

She smiled wryly. "Assassination training starts at age five, Heaven's arena at age fourteen, Hunter exam at age fifteen, and then nen training immediately following that. Our mother has quite the system." She grinned sheepishly at him. "I've eavesdropped on my older sibling's training sessions sometimes, so I knew the schedule and a bit about it. Fukinoro had always been the loyal, quiet one, so I figured he didn't."

Killua gave her a quick hug, which she eagerly returned. "What'd you say we grab some tags?"

"Please," Aliara agreed with a laugh.

* * *

They didn't even need to do a second trial. The man running the first trial called Netero, the Hunter exam president or whatever, and he said it was fine and that they both passed. Killua and Aliara had both grinned at that, and the man had done some dramatic announcement to declare their victory.

They'd got their licenses.

She was a Hunter.

Aliara grinned stupidly at the small card as she and Killua started to the port that would allow them to get back to Greed Island. It had taken about forty five minutes to gather all the tags, because some of the participants had the insight to hide their tags on different parts of their bodies, which made it significantly harder to find. But they had both passed, with flying colours.

So why was something bothering her so much?

"You good to go?" Killua said, grinning at her. His grin slowly faded when he saw the strange look on her face. "What is it?"

"I..." Aliara paused, unsure of how to say it. She was going to sound crazy.

"Are you okay?" he said quickly, turning to face her.

"This is going to sound crazy," she said as a warning, grabbing his hands.

He frowned. "Okay."

Aliara took a deep breathe. "I need to go to the mansion. I mean, I have to go home."

* * *

 **kitsunelover300:** With every chapter, the Chimera Ant arc gets closer, and that scares me. I'm still not 100% sure what I'm doing with that arc just yet. Thank you so much! Thank you for your review! :) :)

 **Awesomeness3013:** THAT MAKES ME SO HAPPY THANK YOU :D :D :D

 **IamAmazing326:** Ooof, if you think you're scared for the Chimera Ant arc, I'm downright terrified. I have no clue how Aliara's going to fit into all that quite yet, and it'll definitely take me a while to plan it out. Thank you so much for your review! :D

 **xenocanaan:** Aww, thank you! Gon's definitely played a key role in making this relationship happen, but I wouldn't have it any other way :) Thank you for your review! :D

 **RedBurningDragon:** And wreck it they did. Thank you for your review! :D

 **RavenNox:** I was afraid something like this will happen. Don't worry, I'm going to be expanding more on her nen. I didn't want to take it too far at the start because she still needs to grow and learn like the rest of the boys, but I have plenty of ideas for how she can diverge from the transmutation aspect of her nen. Thank you for letting me know, I'll try to speed it up :)

 **Daises1005118:** I've got some ideas, but I'm completely open to ideas! You're more than welcome to offer some. Thank you so much! :)

 **K1lluaa:** Thank you! :)

 **At Night We Rise:** Aww, thank you so much! You're such a sweetheart ^*^ :D

 **Oof:** I'm getting there, slowly but surely XD Thank you so much, I'm so glad you're enjoying! :D

 **Yozora531:** Of course he does! This is Gon we're talking about :P Thank you for your review! :) :)

 **Family shit is going down next chapter my friends, I can't wait!~**


	54. Truth

**Chapter** **54: Truth**

"You what?!"

"I knew you'd think it was crazy," Aliara muttered, crossing her arms and glaring at her shoes.

Killua shook his head in disbelief. "But..." He ran a hand through his hair, staring at her in surprise. "Every time you talk about that place, it's always negative. You said it yourself- you never want to go back there. And your mother's put out the ransom for you, isn't that exactly what she wants? Why would you go back?"

Aliara frowned. "I've learned a lot since I left. Who my father was, Ano's father, and who Kirika's father is. I've learned a lot about what kind of a person my mother is, not that I didn't already know, of course. I just..." she shook her head. "I don't know. I just feel like I have to have closure or something."

"Closure," he repeated, astounded.

"Or something," Aliara agreed with a shrug.

Killua swallowed. "What about Gon?"

The black-haired girl bit her lip. "I won't be long, no more than three days. And he can survive without me for a few more days. I mean, we expected the exam to go on longer, so coming back this soon would be a pleasant surprise."

"You mean, without _us_ ," he put in.

She blinked. "What?"

"What, you honestly thought I'd let you go alone?" he said, smirking. "I can-"

Aliara cut him off. "Killua, I'm sorry, but I think this is something I need to do alone."

His jaw dropped, and she watched the temporary contentment fall from his face. "...What?"

"I don't mean it like... Well, of course I'd want you to come," she said hurriedly, biting the inside of her cheek, "but this is family business. I think I need to go alone. Besides, I know you want to get back to Gon."

"But-"

"I know, I know," Aliara repeated, avoiding his gaze, because if she looked at him she knew she wouldn't be able to resist his puppy eyes and she'd end up taking him along with her. "I know this is selfish of me, but I need to do it."

Killua looked conflicted. He took her hands in his and glanced at her worriedly. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yes," she said immediately. "I'm a lot stronger than when I left. I promise I'll come back to you guys."

"I'd much rather go with you."

"I know."

There was a beat of silence until Killua pulled her towards him in a hug. Aliara wrapped her arms around his shoulders and buried her face in his neck. This was a lot harder than she thought it would be.

"Promise me," he whispered to her, sending shivers down her spine. "Promise me you'll come back to us."

"I will."

"Promise."

She hesitated slightly before she whispered, "I promise."

He relaxed and let her go, his hands still resting on her sides. "You go... go kick some sense into your mother."

Aliara managed a watery smile. "Yeah. I will."

The white-haired boy leaned in and briefly pressed his lips to her forehead before he pulled back, and gave her one last smile. Aliara smiled back. She'd see him again. She'd see him again, she knew it. "Four days at max," she said.

He nodded, biting his lip. "Yeah."

They both turned and walked off, and Aliara refused to allow herself to look back. His touch lingered on her side, his lips on her forehead. She knew that if she looked back she'd give in to the temptation and she drag him with her, or she wouldn't go at all. No. This was family business- this was something that she needed to do alone, whether she liked it or not.

Aliara eventually gave in and whipped around.

He was already gone.

* * *

It took an entire day to reach her mansion.

It looked the same as she remembered- large brass doors guarding a long driveway through a magnificent, expensive garden. Video cameras in several different hidden places. A small buzzer with an intercom.

Aliara punched the button with her thumb, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Who is it?" a tired voice called back.

She rolled her eyes. She'd been in the control room and she knew personally that she probably had about five different cameras trained on her right now. The guard was probably lazy and tired.

"It's Aliara," she said briskly.

The guard's voice crackled through the intercom. "Ma'am, unless you have information of value and are not planning on wasting our time concerning the Lorvell family's missing daughter-"

She almost punched the machine. He thought she was someone here with information for that stupid reward, but he probably got a lot of those. "It's Aliara, you moron," she snapped, her temper already at its end. "Look through the damn cameras."

There was a pause. "I'm so sorry, Lady Lorvell," he stammered, his voice cracking. "I will send-"

"No need," Aliara said with a scowl. "I'll walk."

"Yes, ma'am," he said quickly, not choosing to argue, and the gates slid open.

The driveway was just as long as she remembered. Smooth pavement, slightly uphill, surrounded by luscious plants and flowers. The gardener saw her walking up the driveway and bowed to her, and she managed a tight smile.

Before she knew it, she was at the doors. She didn't even get a chance to knock before the doors swung open. Two tall men in dark suits held each door open for her, and then bowed. "Lady Aliara," one of them said, "it is a pleasure to see you again."

She rolled her eyes. Rehearsed.

"Please allow us to escort you to the sitting room," the other one said. "Would you like to get changed before your audience with the lady of the house?"

Aliara studied her navy blue jeans, black baggy hoodie, and custom shoes. She grinned at the guard. "Not a chance."

"Very well," he replied, gently shutting the door. "If you'll follow us."

So she followed, even though she knew her way through this mansion like the back of her hand. Up the stairs, down the hall, into the large posh room with deep red furniture, a large flat-screen television, a diamond chandelier, and enough sitting room for twenty.

The butler pushed open the door. "Presenting, Lady Aliara."

Aliara rolled her eyes. She didn't exactly look very presentable.

They were all there, all of her family. Her mother was sitting in the large armchair, her hair pulled back in a massive bun that was laced with silver beads and jewelry and dressed in a long white dress that could probably be sold for enough money to feed a small family for a year. Kuro and Yuno, her older brothers, were sitting on one of the large couches, and had both cocked their heads towards her when the door opened.

Iyami was staring at her with a faint look of surprise on her face. Kirika, Phinks' daughter- shit, that was going to be fun to explain- was sitting next to her, smiling at Aliara. Libro, her youngest brother, had chosen to ignore her completely, instead favoring his gaming device.

Fukinoro cast her what she assumed to be a glare- she couldn't really tell, he had a ridiculous poker face- and had his arms crossed, his clipped hair pulled back.

The best part was Ano. He immediately popped up off his spot on the couch and took a run towards her, despite her mother's hiss of "Ano!" and threw himself at her, tackling her in a bear hug.

"Oh, thank god," he whispered, squeezing her. Aliara squeezed him back, grinning into his shoulder.

"I'm not staying," she whispered back.

Ano pulled off, grinning at her. "Wouldn't expect you to."

"How lovely of you to join us, Aliara," her mother said loudly and firmly, glaring at her. "Have a seat."

She made her way over to one of the many couches and sat, right next to Ano.

"I," her mother began, "have been tracking you down for-"

"I don't care," Aliara said swiftly, cutting her off.

Kuro coughed awkwardly in an attempt to hide his laugh, and Aliara took pride in that. Her mother's nostrils flared as she snapped, "you dare-"

"Do you honestly think I came back just so I could hear you bitch and complain and all the horrible effort that you never actually made _yourself?_ " Aliara clicked her tongue, shaking her head. "I don't care."

"Language," Libro snapped condescendingly, like he was much better and more proper than she was, not even bothering to look up from his gaming device.

"Oh, fuck off," she snapped back, and he looked up like he had just been slapped.

Adrianna Lorvell's lip curled as she glared down at her troublesome daughter. "Then what, pray tell, brought you back here?"

"Wasn't the charming atmosphere, that's for sure," Aliara said with a shrug, which made her older brothers both smirk. "You couldn't seem to track me down, and it was getting really annoying with all the bounty pictures- you couldn't have picked a better photo?- so I came to settle things."

Aliara paused, enjoying the different shades of red that her mother's face was turning. "I thought I knew what kind of woman you are," she continued, "but I've talked to a couple people and it turns out you're much worse than I originally thought."

"How _dare_ you-"

"Kirika?" Aliara called out softly, drawing the smallest one's eyes up to her. "I met your father."

This brought a complete halt to her mother's snarls as the little girl's eyes widened. "You did?" she whispered, her face splitting into a grin. "What's he like?"

Aliara paused and tried to find words. "Just like everyone else's fathers. Screwed over by Adrianna. But he had blond hair, just like you, and he's... he's really strong," she said, deciding not to mention that he had been among a group of people that wanted to kill her. "I told him about you. He seemed pleased."

"Really?" Kirika whispered, beaming.

She nodded. "Really."

"Lies," her mother hissed weakly.

Aliara glared daggers at her mother. "I met my dad."

This created another heavy silence. Ano glanced at her and said, "you met dad?"

She nodded. "He's dead."

Ano nodded slowly. He had nothing to be sad about: he'd never met his father or learned anything about him. Maybe in a different world, where she had a different name, things would've worked out differently.

"I know he'd dead," her mother snapped, "I saw it on the news."

"It was on the news?" she asked, surprised.

The blonde lady narrowed her eyes. "If you didn't know it was on the news, that how on earth did you know he was dead?"

"I killed him," Aliara said simply.

Now, the tension that seemed to be building up like a wave crashed down- _hard-_ on the rest of the room. Her mother's red face was contorting, perhaps with anger; Ano's jaw had dropped and he was looking at her, speechless; Libro stared at her like she had just said that world was about to end; Kuro was giving her the weirdest look she'd every seen; Fukinoro looked decently surprised.

"You killed him," Yuno repeated dumbly.

Aliara nodded, her heart tight.

"Why?" Iyami said quietly.

"He tried to turn me in for reward money," Aliara said quietly. "He tricked me. When I caught on, he tried to kill me." She turned to Ano, who looked like a deer in headlights. "I'm sorry," she managed, trying to prevent her voice from cracking. "I..."

"It's not your fault," Ano said simply, glaring coldly at their mother.

Their mother looked like a caged wild animal, ready to pounce. "You-"

"In short," Aliara snapped, her rage slowly piling up, "you're going to take down the bounty attached to my name. You're going to let me leave this mansion. And you're going to leave me alone."

There was another brief silence before her mother cackled. "You honestly believe I will let you walk out of here freely? Foolish girl, you walked in here willingly. Of course you're not going to leave."

The raven-haired girl inhaled slowly, calming herself. She'd expected this. "What a shame. I guess I'll have to leave through force."

"As if you had the ability," Adrianna snapped, although her eyes betrayed her doubts.

"Fine," Aliara said simply, and she held up her right hand. With a flick of her wrist, her hand ignited into flame. Yuno yelped in surprise and fell back against the couch; Kirika squeaked; Libro dropped his gaming device in surprise. Ano, however, stared in awe at her flaming fist. Fukinoro glared coldly at her, but Kuro was grinning at her devilishly.

"I'll stay a bit longer," she promised, the flames surrounding her hand crackling brilliantly, "because it'd be a shame to leave so soon after I traveled all this way. But you are going to let me leave, or I'm going to burn you down on my way out."

The flames died.

Kuro couldn't help it- he barked out a laugh. Adrianna Lorvell stood up, fuming, and brushed past her as she made her way out of the room. Aliara was surprised- she'd expected more of a fight.

Her mother wasn't done. Before she closed the door behind her, she called out, "you're still just as foolish as I remember you. Ignoring the beauty of the life I've created for you in favor of your own fantastical whims. You're weak-minded and weak in every other way."

She slammed the door behind her.

Aliara grinned madly at the door, completely ignoring her mother's parting words.

 _That felt awesome._

* * *

 **Keep Calm and Be Ninja:** Aliara's mother never learned nen. Obviously, she's not weak; but she never got around to learning nen. Aliara's got a bit more to do before she leaves. Chimera Ant arc? I've mentioned it before, but I've only got vague ideas for that arc, close to nothing at all. Improvisation! Anyways, thank you so so much for your review, it made me smile :) :)

 **xenocannan:** Yeah, it is a bit crazy- but everyone else is crazy too (thank goodness). Thank you so so much for your review! :D

 **kitsunelover300:** Yep, her brother's status has gradually risen on her priorities scale. You were right- he wasn't going to let her go alone, but this is something that Aliara knows has to be only her. And he understands that, and trusts her enough to know that she'll be okay. That punch? Certainly planning on it. Thank you so much for your review! :)

 **RedBurningDragon:** No kidding... Thank you for your review! :) :)

 **Yozora531:** Answers? Some are here, some are next chapter. Thanks for your review! :D

 **Oof:** Hell yes she is! Thank you for your review! :D :D

 **robertastarcris11:** Aha thank you! Thanks so much for your review! :)

 **At Night We Rise:** There won't be any KillAra fluff next chapter- but hopefully you enjoyed the little tidbit at the beginning! Thank you so much for your review! :D

 **I decided that another original chapter was probably overdue. Thank you for all your constant love and support! :)**


	55. Kuro

**Chapter** **55: Kuro**

"Tomorrow morning," Aliara declared firmly, her tone clearly indicating that there was no way she was going to change her mind, "I'm leaving. If anyone else wants to leave too, I'll respect that and help you get out of here. But it's up to you."

She was greeted with blank stares from all seven of her siblings.

Aliara sighed, rolling her eyes. "Oh, come on. You can't seriously try and tell me that's everything's all sunshine and roses here."

"I'm going to leave," Ano said, turning to her with a determined and fierce stare. "I can't take it here anymore."

The black-haired girl felt an instant wave of relief. She couldn't stand the thought of her favourite brother being stuck here. He was too brash and bold to avoid arguments with their mother, and Aliara noticed by the way that he shifted awkwardly and winced when he rolled his shoulders back that he obviously hadn't been let off easy. Torture was never fun, obviously.

"You're ridiculous," Yuno scoffed loudly, flipping his thin ginger hair out of his eyes. "We've got the perfect life here!"

Aliara couldn't believe what he was saying. "Are you serious?"

"Not all of us are as reckless as you," Fukinoro snapped coldly, drawing his siblings' surprised eyes towards him. Fukinoro rarely found the need to contribute to any conversation. "Some of us prefer safety."

"We all grew up the same way," the raven-haired girl countered, "and I think we all know how to take care of ourselves."

"You're stupid," Libro called out childishly, going back to his game. "Mom loves us, we have the most money in the world, and we're crazy strong. That's all we need."

Aliara wanted to laugh. This idiotic blond child was only eight years old! Oh, wait until he grew up. "Where's your choice in your decisions, Libro?" she argued, crossing her arms. "We kill who she wants us to kill. We marry who she wants us to marry. We fight her battles for her. We're just pawns."

Ano grumbled something under his breath and Aliara barely caught it, but she snatched his words and twisted it into another argument. "What about our hobbies? I love building things, it's what I've wanted to do my entire life, and she refused. We've all got things we would much rather be doing than killing people."

Libro ignored her.

Frustrated, Aliara jammed her hand into her backpack and pulled out her gloves, slipping them on quicker than she'd ever done it before. She aimed at Libro's gaming device and curled her pointer finger, causing the laser to pop out of the back, then curled her pinky.

The beam of light hit its mark- Libro's game had a neat hole through the side. His screen blanked out. "What- What?!" he demanded angrily, throwing the useless device at his older sister.

Aliara raised a hand and caught Libro's gaming device before it could hit her in the head. She examined the neat hole that had severed the wiring inside before she dropped it to her feet.

"You made that?" Iyami said quietly, her eyebrows raised in pleasant surprise.

She nodded, trying to prevent herself from beaming. People complimenting her creations would never get old. "Yeah. I've gotten a lot stronger since I left."

There was a heavy silence before Aliara's youngest sister piped up. "I would leave with you," Kirika said quietly, "but I don't think I could make it on my own just yet. I need a few more years."

Startled, Aliara realized she was probably right. Kirika was ten years old and preferred not to overexert herself in her assassination studies- she'd kill people, sure, but she never enjoyed it and came home sobbing after her first completed mission.

"That's fine," Aliara said quickly. "I'm not ordering any of you, but I'm making the offer."

"This is stupid!" Libro yelled angrily, stomping his feet. "You're stupid! And those things on your hands are... Stupid!" She raised her eyebrows at his limited vocabulary. Her youngest brother stormed out of the room, slamming the door on his way out.

"Just as mature as I remember," she grumbled to herself.

Fukinoro stood up and left. After him, Yuno strutted out with a roll of his eyes and a flip of his hair. Aliara was surprised- normally he didn't do anything except follow their oldest brother Kuro around. Speaking of him...

"Hey, Kuro," Aliara said finally, turning to the eldest, "you've been awfully quiet."

She was surprised to see that his face was pinched and that he had laced his fingers together, drumming his fingers. Kuro was normally very composed; something was definitely off. "What is it?" she tried.

Kuro shook his head slowly, then turned to the girls on the couch. "Can I have a word with her? Alone?"

Aliara was surprised. She couldn't remember Kuro wanting anything to do with her, ever. Iyami pursed her lips and nodded, taking Kirika by the arm and leading her from the room. Ano glared at Kuro before he followed them, closing the door with considerably less force than those before him.

She frowned. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had one-on-one time with Kuro.

He got up from the couch he was sitting on and sat in Ano's spot. Aliara waited for him to say something, because prying wouldn't do any good. "You killed your father?" he asked finally, turning to stare at her.

Aliara felt her heart flip over in her chest. "Yes."

"Do you feel guilty about it?"

"All the time," she said immediately, surprised with herself. "I mean... he seemed like a good guy. Maybe if I hadn't come from here, or there wasn't a bounty... I feel like we really could've gotten along." Aliara choked out the last words, trying to hold back the tidal wave of emotions in her chest that she'd been temporarily keeping at bay. "Why're you asking?"

Kuro ran a hand through his spiky black hair. They made eye contact, and Aliara could've sworn that he looked haunted.

"I killed my dad," he said hoarsely.

Aliara's jaw dropped. "You... You what?" she finished quietly.

He exhaled slowly, leaning back against the couch. "On an assassination mission. Didn't even realize he was my dad until after."

She didn't really know what to say. Offer comfort? Maybe? Alternatives? Pry for more information?

"It was an assassination mission that Mom put me on," Kuro started quietly, glaring at the floor. "Infiltrate this grungy motel and kill him. I was sixteen. I used a fake ID to get into the motel's bar, figured out what one he was, and killed him as soon as he got to his room.

"Heard the other guys there talking after," he continued, "talking about how he... how he always bragged. Bragged that he got into bed with the Mom, thinking it was a huge accomplishment to have attracted the richest lady in the land. Didn't even care that he had a kid. But I lined up the years and... and I got a few other sources."

Kuro huffed. "I went to Mom about it afterwards, but she brushed it off as saying that it was a guy who was making up lies about her and she didn't like it. But... he looked like me. The timing worked out. Mom let something slip, and then I realized she was lying."

"Kuro..." Aliara said quietly, trailing off because she didn't really know what else to say.

"He wasn't a bad guy," he croaked out, running his hands through his hair for a second time, "he just got a bit lippy when he drank too much. Which he did a lot. I just... I can't believe she made me do that."

"Shit," the black-haired girl whispered.

Kuro laughed, his voice dry. "Shit indeed."

"Holy shit, Kuro," Aliara repeated, shaking her head. "Have you told anyone else?"

He shook his head, then shrugged. "Everyone else would think that I'd some sadistic idiot. That I'm lying or that I should've noticed. But... But you had the same look in your eyes," Kuro said quietly, jamming his hands in his pockets. "That you were haunted by what you did."

"I am," she said eventually. "I regret it every time I think about it, but I guess my situation's a bit different than yours. I justify it in my head, saying that he was trying to kill me, that it was all self-defense... But I had no right to do that."

Kuro nodded heavily. "Yeah."

They sat in silence for a while until Aliara leaned over and wrapped her arms around Kuro in a hug. He'd really matured- Aliara had always thought him to be a cruel, sneaky person who laughed his way through his work. His laughing was his way of hiding what horrors he'd done; his trickery was his way to avoid thinking about his deeds. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "You didn't deserve to go through that."

The black-haired boy laughed weakly. "Yeah, yeah. Now get off me."

Aliara rolled her eyes. "So, are you leaving then?"

"Definitely," Kuro promised. He cocked his eyebrows at her. "I meant to ask, you already know nen?" She nodded. "That's hilarious, Yuno still doesn't even know what he's doing yet."

"And you do?" she teased.

Kuro got a familiar glint in his eye. "Yep. Yours is fire, right?"

Aliara grinned and nodded.

"We're more similar than I thought, then," he smirked. "Mine's explosives."

"Damn," she said appreciatively. "So you're willing to help get Ano and I out when she doesn't let us leave?"

"Was already planning on it," Kuro said with a smirk.

They grinned evilly at each other and shared a fist bump.

* * *

"Pack your bags and be ready to leave by morning," Aliara said to Ano when she saw him again by her bedroom door ten minutes later. "Guaranteed she won't let us leave without a fight."

Ano grinned. "I'm _so_ ready for this."

They shared a hug before Aliara ducked into her room for the night, cracking her knuckles one by one. This ought to be fun.

* * *

 **xenocannan:** Puppy eyes will make an appearance, don't worry. Thank you for your review! :)

 **Keep Calm and Be Ninja:** I don't think Ano will be travelling with Gon, Killua, and herself. He's leaving for sure, but their adventure between the three of them is something special. Although I appreciate the thought :) Thank you for your review, I'm so glad you enjoyed! :D

 **Awesomeness3013:** You're not the only one looking forward to it ;D Thanks for your review! :)

 **RedBurningDragon:** Aha, thank you so much! :D

 **Guest:** Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed :) :)

 **Oof:** Yup, Kuro knows what he's doing. As for Iyami's name? It was actually really random, I was just pulling letters together and then I was satisfied with it, aha. Thanks for your review! :)

 **At Night We Rise:** I'm so proud of her too, she's grown up so much T^T Thank you for your review! :)

 **havanatitiana:** Not this chapter, unfortunately. But next one for sure :) Thank you for your review! :D

 **Crappy filler chapter... but early update. Hmm. Next one will be better, I promise :)**


	56. Escape

**Chapter** **56: Escape  
**

Aliara cheerfully chomped into her pancakes the next morning, helping herself to seconds eagerly and earning very weird stares from everyone else at the breakfast table.

Needless to say, the tension at the table was horribly thick and extremely awkward. Aliara's enthusiasm for her breakfast was completely out of place. She couldn't help it; she was leaving today, she had pancakes, and being cheerful pissed off her mother.

The plan was that she would leave, escape, whatever you wanted to call her departure, after breakfast.

Oh, she couldn't wait. She half-hoped that her mother would put up a fight- that would be so much more entertaining.

Judging by the increase in the number of fire extinguishers around the room, it would be a fight.

"I love the new decorations, Mom," Ano said with a snicker and his eyes flickered to the fire extinguishers that lined the walls and the butlers ready to use them. At least quadruple the usual amount that was in the room, at least. Kuro coughed awkwardly and Iyami smiled halfheartedly. Her mother's nostrils flared angrily and she pursed her lips instead of answering to Ano.

Iyami had approached Aliara afterwards and told her that she would not be leaving; she wanted to stay and watch out for Kirika until she was strong enough to leave. Aliara was surprised by her kindness and wished her the best of luck.

Aliara shot Ano a look from across the table and he nodded discreetly.

 _Time to go._

"Thank you for your generous hospitality," Aliara said, letting the sarcasm creep into her voice as she stood up from her chair, "but unfortunately, I'll have to leaving now. I'm already late as is."

"Me too," Ano piped up, standing. He pulled the faded green bag that he had clutched between his feet and swung it over his shoulder. Thankfully, they were both light packers.

Aliara pulled her backpack over her shoulders, beaming. "See you around."

"You're not leaving," Adrianna said crisply, snapping her fingers. Dozens of butlers (Aliara counted twenty eight) positioned themselves with a gun in one hand and an extinguisher immediately behind them.

The raven-haired girl had to prevent herself from rolling her eyes. She locked eyes with Kuro, who raised his eyebrows. He was good to go.

"I figured," she said with a shrug, "but what makes you think you can stop us?" Ano blinked at her gratefully.

"We outnumber you," Adrianna declared firmly, "not only in this room but on the rest of this property. Every guard is prepared for your little flame trick. You won't be going anywhere. Either of you."

Aliara sighed. "If you insist."

She plunked her backpack down on her chair and rummaged around inside. She was already wearing her shoes, but she pulled out her gloves and slid them on. She had every gun in the room trained on her in that moment.

"How about a drink, then?" she said with a grin as she pulled a bottle of her mother's most expensive alcohol out of her bag and set it on the table.

Confused silence followed.

"Do you really think that those tiny little flames were all I can do?" Aliara said mockingly, laughing and grabbing the neck of the bottle. With one smooth swipe, the cork of the bottle was gone. "You really think I'd leave and not get an extra trick or two?"

She hoisted the bottle up, almost as if she was toasting her mother. "Always have an extra trick up your sleeve," Aliara hummed, smirking. "You taught me that."

She locked eyes with Kuro again.

 _Now._

There was a huge bang as the room shuddered. Every guard had their gun pointed at a different door, unsure of the situation. Cries of alarm could be heard from outside the dining room- servants and maids.

"What was that?!" her mother snapped, jerking up in her seat.

"Your wine cellar," Aliara said with a shrug.

"My _what?!"_

"And, if I can recall," Aliara said slowly, tilting the bottle, "alcohol is _highly flammable._ Isn't it, mother?"

Kuro was the one who set off the explosion in the cellar. That had been their plan; but her mother had no way to call her bluff. It would work to her advantage. Besides, she'd already told Iyami and Kirika to take anything of value and put it somewhere that it wouldn't get caught in the fire. There were more loud shouts from outside.

"My, my," the black-haired girl cackled, enjoying every moment, "looks like you'll be using those fire extinguishers for something else."

 _Stage two._

Aliara took the bottle of alcohol and whipped it at the wall. It shattered against the wall with a loud smash, showering the guard beneath with glass. The alcohol ran down the wall and the curtain.

This part was the hardest- it relied on Aliara being able to actually make this part of her nen that she'd been practicing for months work.

She summoned the flames, white hot in her hands, and concentrating, she twisted them into a gun.

Her flames bent to her will, shrinking and molding themselves into a pistol. The pistol was literally made of flames; the barrel was sparking and the trigger was making Aliara's fingers burned. She squeezed the trigger, and there was a loud bang.

It actually worked.

The gun made of flames fired a bullet- no, not a bullet, flames. It fired pure flames like a jet into the curtain.

The far side of the room erupted in flames and heat, catching the alcohol and devouring it. The guards were shouting in alarm, whipping out their fire extinguishers and trying their best to banish the fire, but the flames were too high and incredibly strong.

"Wow," Aliara breathed, laughing, "it actually worked!"

"Aliara!" Kuro called, firing off a couple shots from a pistol he'd hidden in his jacket and taking down a few stray guards.

"Right!"

"Let's go!" Ano shouted. The trio bolted, Kuro covering their escape and Aliara whooping gleefully.

"Guards!" their mother screeched, her voice a distant echo as they zipped away. "Get those... Those _delinquents_!"

Ano snorted. "She's not even concerned about the mansion?"

"Insurance," Kuro said with a shrug, grinning as he shot another guard down.

Aliara laughed, and the three of them took a turn, bolting for the balcony room. Kuro kicked open the door and his younger siblings immediately went to the sides, slicing the throats of the security guards until there were none left. "Balcony!" Ano called, hopping down from one guard's shoulders where he'd just snapped the guard's neck. The trio burst forward to the balcony.

A single, loud bang followed and the group screeched to a halt. A bullet had whizzed by Ano's ear and tore through the glass doors, shattering the material into tiny pieces. They all turned to face Adrianna Lorvell, who had a pistol in one hand and another hand to her hair, which was coming undone, God forbid.

"You, I expected," she sneered, glaring at Ano, "but Kuro? I expected better of you."

"I could've left years ago," the tall, dark-haired boy snapped, leveling his pistol at her. "But you would've hunted me down. I'm not as reckless as this brat."

Aliara frowned, rolling her eyes. Kuro never used her real name- always 'brat' or 'punk'.

"And you think I won't hunt you down now?" their mother challenged, stepping forward and nearly tripping on her dress.

"Now you've got three of us to worry about," Kuro said with a laugh. "And I think we're going to be a bit of a handful."

Aliara was already starting to bring her hands out, ready to try her gun idea again or fire the laser from her glove, but Adrianna turned the gun on her. "Oh no you don't. I know your little laser trick. How you learned nen so young is beyond me, so it's natural that it's imperfect and sloppy."

She bristled, but Ano grabbed her shoulder. "She's baiting you."

Oh, Aliara knew she was. But it'd be _so_ satisfying to land a punch straight across her mother's pretty face.

"You stroll in here acting all high and mighty," her mother taunted, stepping forward again, "yet you need others to get yourself out of here, just like last time. You're still weak and pathetic."

Her blood boiled. Ano was squeezing her shoulder- tight.

"If you stop now, I'll forget any of this ever happened," the blonde tyrant threatened. "And-"

"Your mansion is burning down as we speak," Aliara deadpanned, rolling her eyes. "That's not something you can forget in a few seconds."

"Ready," Kuro whispered, so quiet she almost didn't catch it.

A second explosion went off, much closer and much louder than before. The doors behind Adrianna blew open in flaming fury, exposing the balcony room to more flames and more heat. "Now!" Kuro called, firing a warning shot before twisting and kicking at the door. The glass on his side fell through easily; Ano and Aliara jumped through the door that their mother had already kindly broken down for them.

The heat was becoming stronger and more powerful; the flames traveled across the room with ferocious speed. Aliara turned and saw her mother racing after them, reaching a perfectly manicured hand out to try and snag someone's shirt or jacket.

Aliara twisted and socked her mother straight across the face, sending her tumbling backwards. "Bye, bitch!" she snarled, a smirk creeping up onto her face.

"Aliara!" Ano called.

She turned, taking one last glance at her fallen mother, and then ran at the balcony. Ano and Kuro were already there, and in unison, they jumped up and pushed off the railing, leaping off the second story and falling to the ground below. The balcony room exploded behind them, raining debris on them.

It was like a movie- when the lead actor jumped out of the burning building and it exploded behind him.

Aliara felt like laughing. So, she did. Hitting the ground and tucking into a roll, Aliara laughed happily, sprinting alongside Ano and Kuro as they made their mad dash to the exit. She heard Ano snickering beside her, and Kuro's face was wide with a grin.

It was only when they got to the end of the driveway and climbed the gate like monkeys before they stopped to admire their work. The entire mansion was up in flames, and one of the wings was collapsing. An entire fire crew was outside, trying desperately to tame the flames and extinguish them. Pieces of wall and ceiling collapsed on one another. Aliara couldn't help but wonder if the others got out.

"They're all out," Kuro said as if he read her mind. "They're strong."

Aliara and Ano nodded along.

This was it.

She'd finally escaped.

Sure, she'd run away before- from her family, from her accidents, from her name, from her problems- but this felt final. Like she was burning her past down and starting with something new. She'd escaped.

Aliara Lorvell was finally free.

"Hell fucking yes!" she yelled out in excitement, punching the air. Ano laughed loudly and grabbed her in a hug, and to their surprise, Kuro hugged them next, picking them up off the ground.

There was no better way to end it.

* * *

 **kitsunelover300:** Killua's 'mother hen' tendencies' XD That made me laugh! Yes, I'm so proud of Ali, I never thought my OC would come so far or become so well developed, I'm so proud :') Thank you for your review! :)

 **RedBurningDragon:** I never thought of freezing flames. That's a really interesting idea! And as for Ano... You'll see next chapter. Thank you so much for your review! :D

 **xenocannan:** Thank you! :D

 **Yozora531:** Family of psychotic nutcases indeed. Thank you for your review! :)

 **Keep Calm and Be Ninja:** Oh my goodness thank you! Your compliments make me so happy, I'm so glad you enjoyed, thank you so much! Thanks for your review! :) :)

 **Daisies1005118:** Killua's family is another matter entirely- but it will be addressed later in the story. I could try to make the chapters longer, but that would mean longer time to update chapters. Tell me what you'd prefer! Thank you for your review! :D

 **Oof:** I actually considered it- I thought, 'how fun would it be if while they were hugging I just had him stab her?' But I ended up leaving it because I wanted her escape scene and another sibling that Aliara could rely on. Thanks for your review! :)

 **At Night We Rise:** I'm so glad you enjoyed, thank you so so much! :D

 **Just thought I'd incorporate the fanfiction title in here somewhere. And a bit of a peek at her nen!**

 **Behold! An early update! But beware, I'm away all weekend and part of next week so the next chapter might be late. Might.**


	57. Home

**Chapter** **57: Home**

An hour later, the trio found themselves in a quiet diner, feasting on large piles of fries and burgers. Aliara happily jammed the greasy food into her mouth as Kuro made some snarky remark about one of the waiters, causing Ano to giggle.

Aliara inhaled another couple fries as she glanced around the diner. It was relatively quiet, with red booths and matching tables and a few waiters and waitresses waltzing around in faded blue uniforms. A few television sets were at the corners of the room, displaying news bulletins and such. It was a cozy little place, not overly huge- it was perfect for a small place to grab a bite to eat.

"Where does he think he is, a strip club?" Kuro grumbled as they stared at a male waiter. This certain waiter was winking at a table of ladies and combing back his gelled hair as he took their orders.

Ano and Aliara both snickered. As the waiter sauntered off, the girls at the table started giggling. "They actually were into him?" the black-haired girl scoffed, chomping down on a burger.

"No clue why, I'm much better looking," Kuro agreed. The trio burst into laughter, clinking their milkshakes together as 'cheers'.

There was a loud bang that caught Aliara's ears. She turned to the TV, quickly followed by Ano and Kuro. A tall woman with dark brown hair pulled back in a high ponytail was shown on screen. She wore a blue suit and clutched a microphone in her hands.

 _"I'm coming to you live from outside the Lorvell's property,"_ she said with a smile, and immediately their eyes widened. _"Just over an hour ago, a raging fire consumed half of the Lorvell mansion but has since been contained."_

The news bulletin was gathering a lot more attention from the rest of the customers in the diner. Even one of the waitresses stopped to glance at the screen.

The screen flashed to a picture of the mansion. One of the sides was dismantled- crumbling pieces were being pulled away by a construction crew and ugly black scars raced up the sides of the building. The balcony room had been completely blown apart. While one side was dismantled, the other side was simply non-existent. It had been reduced to a pile of rubble. That had been where the cellar was.

 _"Several eye witnesses, mostly the many staff of the Lorvell mansion, claim that the fire that burned the mansion was caused by none other than Adrianna Lorvell's own children. Miss Lorvell was found critically injured and has been taken away to the nearest hospital so she will receive treatment as soon as possible. It is unsure whether she will survive this predicament or not."_

The trio exchanged odd glances.

 _"The victims of the attack, including some of the many Lorvell children, have varying opinions on the fire,"_ the reporter said eagerly. _"We've got a few of them who are willing to step up and share their opinions."_

Aliara nibbled on her fries eagerly, ready to see who could possibly share their opinions.

She snorted as her second oldest brother Yuno appeared on the screen. _"You're Miss Lorvell's second son, correct?" t_ he reporter began, holding out her microphone to the ginger-haired boy.

He huffed and flipped his hair out of his eyes. He looked unharmed. _"Yeah, Yuno,"_ he replied casually.

 _"So, Yuno, what's your opinion on the fire and the people who caused it?"_

 _"My siblings are crazy,"_ Yuno snorted, and the trio snickered. _"But our family has always been completely fine until one of them ran away. Mom went crazy after that and got more strict. And then, the crazy child comes back after a year of being away and tries to get us to leave home with her. Crazy, right? What's even crazier is that two of my brothers went with her. They're insane, the whole lot of them."_

"He's called us crazy a lot," Ano remarked, popping another fry in his mouth.

"And insane," Aliara added.

The reporter was taking in the whole story with scary fascination. _"Could you be speaking of Aliara Lorvell, the one with the ten billion jenni bounty?"_

 _"Yup,"_ Yuno said with a shrug as the reporter gawked at him. _"Why Mom even cared enough is beyond me."_

 _"So she is the one who burnt your house down?"  
_

 _"Her, and she had help,"_ he continued. _"Kuro's the oldest, and I thought he liked it here, but apparently not. And Ano went with her too."_

 _"What caused her to start the fire?"_

 _"Mom wouldn't let her leave. It'd be so much easier to just let the insane idiot just run wild, but apparently not."_

The reporter seemed to be on cloud nine. This was a huge amount of information- nobody outside of their mansion actually knew their names or all these personal problems that Yuno was dishing out. _"Will that ten billion jenni bounty on Aliara Lorvell increase because of this escapade?"_

The ginger-haired boy snorted. _"Doubt it."_

The reporter wilted. _"What? Are you certain?"_

 _"I wouldn't be surprised if she dropped the bounty completely,"_ Yuno said with a shrug. _"If Aliara is willing to stroll through the front doors and burn her way out, she's dangerous, and one of her requests when she got here was that the bounty should be dropped. So Mom will probably drop the bounty."_

 _"That's quite the disappointment,"_ the reporter said sadly, adjusting her ponytail. _"Well, thank you for your time?..."_

 _"Yuno,"_ he snapped, _"not that you care."_

Obviously miffed by the fact that the reporter had neglected to remember his name, the trio's brother stormed off and out of view of the screen. The reporter turned back to the camera, flushed. _"W- Well, that's all we have for now. An update on Adrianna Lorvell's condition will come soon. Catch us later!"_

The screen switched to a familiar image of dark-haired girl in a formal blue gown. A bounty price was listed under the photo.

Aliara wanted to laugh. It was her bounty poster.

One of the waiters swiveled around to stare at their table. His jaw dropped, and the pitcher of water that he had been carrying slipped out of his grasp and fell to the floor with a crash, shattering into tiny pieces.

"Time to go," Kuro said with a grin. Ano plunked a handful of jennis onto the counter, more than enough to cover their meal. They all got up as one of the waiters moved towards them.

"Hey! You!" he called out, pointing at them. Specifically, pointing at her.

Kuro grinned devilishly and threw an extra set of jennis on the counter. "This should cover the broken window."

"What broken window?!"

With a crash, the trio of siblings threw themselves out the nearest window, raining glass down on the tiled floor and themselves. Aliara ducked into a roll and broke into a sprint, right behind Kuro, with Ano immediately behind her.

Their laughter echoed through the streets.

* * *

She was at the nearest available port that would allow her to travel back to Greed Island. That was her final destination, wasn't it?

Aliara wanted Ano and Kuro to come with her, that was for sure. But would Killua and Gon want them around? Probably. Would they want to come? Maybe. How would she even get them into the game in the first place? Maybe she could go back and talk to that rich man- Kuro could easily make it into the game. But what about Ano? He didn't know what nen was. Would there be any way to get him to come with her?

"I'm going back to Greed Island," she said eventually, turning around to face the both of them. "My friends and I are trying to complete the game."

Ano's eyes widened. "Is that the really expensive, difficult game?"

"That's the one," Aliara confirmed.

"Really?" Kuro whistled. "Damn."

Aliara rolled her eyes. "If either of you want to come with me, I'm sure I could figure out a way-"

"Naw," her oldest brother said casually, crossing his arms.

She paused. "What?"

He shrugged. "No. There's a couple things I want to do, a few people I want to meet, and some things I want to see. This is my first time out of the mansion on my own free will in ages. I've got too much I want to do." He offered her a lopsided grin. "That, and you're already out there with your friends. I wouldn't want to intrude."

"No- Not at all!" she protested. "But... Okay."

Kuro grinned devilishly, ruffling her hair. "Yeah, you're gonna miss me."

She scowled, tossing his hand off her head. "No way." But she was grinning.

"I think I'm going to travel by myself too," Ano said firmly, clenching his backpack strap tightly in his fist.

Aliara's jaw nearly dropped. "What?"

"I'm not that strong," he confessed, "and I want to train a lot. I'm not at your level yet. And you ran away when you were my age, so there's no reason I can't do it too. I'll get stronger and take the next Hunter exam. I'll beat up every person Mom sends my way!" Ano's eyes shone with determination as he punched his fist in the air.

She smiled sadly. Aliara recognized that stubborn determination that was clearly visible in her brother's eyes- she saw it in herself all the time. Aliara pulled him in for a hug, squeezing tightly. "I'm proud of you," she whispered, smiling.

"Thanks," Ano replied, beaming as he squeezed back.

He let go, and then the two boys walked off together. Aliara was frozen in place as she watched them go, both of her favorite brothers. "Heaven's Arena!" she called out suddenly, waving her hand in the air. They both turned around and started walking backwards. "It's a great place to train and make money at the same time!"

"I'll kick their butts!" Ano promised, grinning and waving wildly.

"And the Yorknew Auction is cool!" she managed, happy tears pricking the corners of her eyes.

Kuro laughed. "See ya, Ali."

Aliara couldn't believe it. When was the last time Kuro had referred to her by her name? That, and a nickname? Too overcome with various emotions to say anything else, Aliara could only wave as the duo turned down the next street over and vanished from sight. They were gone.

She sighed, rubbing her eyes. Aliara clutched her ring, twisting it around her finger, and summoned herself back to Greed Island.

* * *

She arrived at the port.

No Killua, Gon, or Bisky in sight.

Frowning, Aliara pulled her backpack tighter on her shoulders. She was a few hours earlier than what she'd told Killua, but a part of her had been hoping that they would wait. She turned in a circle, weighing her options.

Eventually, Aliara decided to head in the direction that she had last seen Gon and Bisky head towards, when she and Killua were leaving a couple days ago. Was it really that long ago? More like a week. And had Killua told Gon the details about what had happened on their trip? Well, she-

"Ali!"

She spun around at the call and her face immediately twisted into a grin. Killua, his pale hair reflecting the sunlight, was sprinting in her direction with a wide grin plastered across his face.

He lunged at her in a hug without slowing down, wrapping his arms around her waist and tucking his head into her shoulder. Thanks to the extra momentum, Aliara felt herself getting picked up off the ground and spun in a circle. "Killua!" she cried out with a laugh, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and holding on tight.

Eventually, he slowed down, carefully setting her down on the ground. They both pulled back, with his hands still resting lightly on her hips.

Aliara was about to say something when she heard, "Ali!" and was promptly side-tackled to the ground by Gon. They both went sprawling, and although Gon apologized over and over, Aliara couldn't help but laugh as he helped her up and gave her a proper hug.

Screw that wreck of a mansion that she had just burned down; now, she was home.

* * *

 **I'm terribly sorry, but unfortunately I won't be able to respond to your reviews today. The Fanfiction website is choosing the crash on me repeatedly at different times, and I'm unable to load the page with your wonderful reviews, and I'm almost late in putting this chapter up. Thank you all kindly :)**

 **And here marks the end of my miniature original arc! I have no clue how they get back into Greed Island, but I suppose this will work. I hope you enjoyed! :)**

 **Thank you all for your kindness and patience!**


	58. Allies

**Chapter** **58: Allies**

"So, what's new?" Aliara prompted, skipping down the path next to Gon.

He grinned. "We're at 55 cards."

"What?!" the black-haired girl gasped, then she threw her arms around him. "Gon, that's awesome! You guys got a lot!"

"Over half, but we still have a lot to go, though," Bisky said with a shrug, but she was smiling softly. Aliara noticed that her pigtails had been pulled back into a ponytail. "But we're getting a lot better. How was the exam?"

"Easy," Aliara said, sharing a glance with Killua.

"It was like the exhibition round was made specifically for us," Killua said with a grin. He and Aliara bumped their fists together lightly.

Gon nodded. "Killua said you had to deal with some family business, and that's why you were late?"

Aliara's face split into a grin, and she nodded. "Yup."

There was a pause.

"So," Bisky said after a while, her eyes glinting mischievously. "What was it?"

"I burned my mansion down."

"You _what?!"_

"Wait, you have a mansion?!"

"Bisky doesn't know?"

"I didn't tell you?"

"I don't know _what?!"_

"Killua, Gon, you never told her?"

"Didn't know if you wanted me to."

 _"What the hell are you guys not telling me?!"_

Aliara cleared her throat. "I'm a Lorvell."

"You're a... _What?!"_ Bisky screeched, staring at her with wide eyes.

She shrugged casually, pulling her backpack up on her shoulders. "Yeah."

"And you... You burned your mansion down?!"

"Yup!"

"Yeah, Ali," Killua interjected. "What happened?"

Aliara grinned, launching herself into the story. "I went home and told my mom to drop the bounty on my head."

"You have a bounty?!"

"Bisky, shush!"

"And she initially refused," the dark-haired girl admitted, kicking a small stone down the path. "But I told her that I'd met my father- it was this big family meeting, by the way, all my siblings were there- and when she mentioned that she knew he was dead from the news, I told her it was my fault-"

"You... You killed your father?!"

"Bisky! Shut up!"

(Killua got a nice punch in the face after that)

"Ano didn't seem that upset," she said thoughtfully, then quickly clarified to Bisky who Ano was. "And my mom stormed out and I talked to my siblings. I told them if they wanted to leave they were free to come with me. Ano agreed, and so did Kuro, my oldest brother, after he told me..." She caught herself. That wasn't her secret to tell. "After he told me he secretly hated it there. I was surprised. So I stayed the night, and after breakfast, I told my mom I was leaving, and she had already gathered a bunch of guards and was planning to keep me there."

The other three listened in fascination, soaking up her story like sponges.

Aliara grinned devilishly. "We knew she wouldn't let us, so we blew up the cellar."

"You what?" Gon gasped.

"Nice!" Killua encouraged.

She nodded. "Yeah, and then we used the explosion as a distraction and I lit the curtain on fire. We jumped off the balcony and ran for it."

"That sounds like something out of a storybook," Bisky said with a shake of her head. "Wow, I had no idea."

"Good for you, Ali!" Gon said happily.

Killua latched onto her in a hug. "I'm happy for you, that's awesome."

The black-haired girl beamed. "Thanks, Killua."

Maybe they were hugging a second too long, but when they pulled apart, Gon and Bisky both had matching glints of mischief in their eyes. Aliara couldn't help it- she blushed, the redness creeping up her cheeks. Killua was red in the face too.

"So," Bisky said, smiling devilishly at them, "what happened on your date?"

"Date?!" Killua and Aliara protested in unison.

Gon grinned cheekily. "Yeah, Ali. When I asked Killua about you, he got all red and blushy and-"

"Gon! Shut up!" The white-haired boy pounced on his friend, grabbing him in a headlock.

"So?" Bisky sang innocently, widening her eyes. She leaned towards Aliara, grinning. "Girl talk time, how was your date?"

By now, Aliara felt like her face was going to explode with heat. "It wasn't..." she trailed off, before realizing that whatever the hell she and Killua had been doing was exactly what a date was. Crap. "Well, I mean..."

Killua peered over from the headlock he was performing on Gon and met her eyes. He was asking her a question, she realized- asking her if it was okay to say anything to them. It was really sweet of him, honestly, to ask her before he did anything.

She nodded at him, and he nodded back, releasing the squirming boy from his hold. "Well... It was good," he coughed awkwardly.

"That's it? Details!" Bisky pressed, Gon sliding up next to her and nodding eagerly.

Her face bright red with happiness and embarrassment, Aliara took Killua's hand and squeezed. He squeezed back, smiling sheepishly at her.

That seemed to be enough for Bisky and Gon. "You guys are so cute!" the blonde squealed happily, clapping her gloved hands together. "I knew it as soon as I saw you guys!"

Gon pumped a fist in the air. "Finally!"

Aliara could only smile.

* * *

Later that night, they received a call from some of the other players in the game with a request to meet up and exchange information. The four of them discussed their options before agreeing, and before they knew it, night had fallen and they were in a rocky clearing with at least five other groups. Maybe another twelve people in total.

Aliara couldn't help but notice that they were the only group with four people. There were three groups of three, a pair, and someone who worked alone. Aliara wondered how much harder it was if you actually did all of this alone.

"Thanks for coming," one man said, standing up and facing the crowd. He was the one who contacted them- he had a fuzzy hat on with a matching fur top with no sleeves. "You're all here because you know that there's one group that's close to completely the game."

"They have 96 cards," one of his allies added, and the black-haired girl's eyes widened. That was a lot.

"Wait a second," Killua demanded, "how did you find out?"

One of the ladies across the clearing with short spiky hair, a dark tank top, and faded pants rolled her eyes. "You don't even know that? We'll be here until morning trying to explain everything to them."

Aliara glared daggers at this lady that she already didn't like, starting to get up from her spot. "Listen here, bitch-"

"Ali! Hold it!" Gon grabbed her by the arm and she halted, scowling.

She sat and fumed as Killua argued with the spiky-haired lady about different rules of the game. The other teams seemed supportive- they stuck up for them, mentioning to the spiky-haired girl that she and her friends might know something they don't- but the spiky-haired lady scowled.

They argued for a while about Genthru, who apparently was the bomber- someone who's nen involved blowing things up. It reminded Aliara of Kuro, and she couldn't help but miss him a bit. Just a bit.

"I suggest we form an alliance," Fuzzy Hat said, spreading his arms. "We're not strong enough alone and we don't know their abilities."

"I agree," the spiky-haired lady, Yasida, said with a snarl. "But there are some people we could do without."

Aliara glared right back at her. "I'm not too happy about being within ten metres of you either, lady."

Yasida was about to retort when Fuzzy Hat interrupted them. "Hold it, Yasida. All the groups here have collected over 50 cards. They're all strong enough to be here."

"I'll work with anyone beneficial to me," she snapped back. "These little brats have nothing worth my time."

"Yeah," Aliara said loudly, crossing her arms, "I'm not sure if you could keep up with us."

Bisky raised her eyebrows at Aliara in a silent message to watch her tongue. Aliara ignored her because she already was- there were a million worse things she could've said. Besides, this was her way of asserting herself- giving the silent message that she was willing to bite back.

"You're the worthless one here," Killua added, and Aliara sent him a silent thank-you.

Yasida snorted. "Brats, all you can do is talk big. You've got nothing to offer us."

"We know Genthru's abilities," Gon put in, crossing his arms.

 _We do?_

"We also have one of the cards they need," Killua added. "Any complaints?"

 _We do?!_

The way that their faces lit up was amusing. Aliara was just as clueless as they were- taking some time off did that to a person- but she bit her lip and studied the others.

"No complaints," Yasida said, swallowing her pride. "Now tell us their abilities."

"Not for free," Aliara said, smirking.

Killua started striking deals with Yasida as Aliara watched on with a smirk on her face. The deals were over relatively quickly and they got some information in exchange for their own knowledge. Before they knew it, Fuzzy Hat had looked up one of the cards Genthru didn't have (or anyone, for that matter) and the group had used a spell card to travel to the port where this card was supposed to be found.

They split up to gather information. Aliara went with Bisky while Gon went off with Killua. Aliara had originally been prepared to go for a few days until they found something useful, but it only took a few hours.

There was a group of fifteen pirates on the island.

There were sixteen of them. Near perfect.

The lady who originally gave them the information told them where to go next: a pub. Aliara was already itching to hit something- Yasida had put her in a bad mood. The lady told them that they had to force the pirates to leave in order to gain the card they were after, and Aliara just wanted to beat a couple pirates to a pulp.

They found the bar, with five pirates of varying sizes scattered around holding different things of beer.

Fuzzy Hat approached them first. "We have certain matters to discuss with you. Would you mind leaving our city?"

His voice was calm and reasonable, but the pirates all burst into fits of laughter. "Been a long time since I heard those words!" one of them grunted with a laugh. "The last ones who said that got tossed in the sea!"

The largest one, easily three times Aliara's height and at least ten times her weight, stumbled forwards. "All decisions are made by the captain. I'll let you see him on one condition."

He spilled his beer in a circle around him and used a small lighter to light it on fire. He squatted in a strong sumo stance. "If you can move me from this circle, I'll take you to see that captain."

A plan had already formed in her mind.

"Can I do it?" she asked quickly and quietly, turning to Killua and Gon with sparkles in her eyes. "Please? I need to hit something."

"Wait a minute," Bisky suggested with a giggle, "and then go for it."

Aliara beamed in thanks and moved to the side of the bar, grabbing a bottle of whisky. It was cheap whisky, she could tell, but it would do the job. This would be like burning down the mansion- but this time she'd get to burn a person.

One man charged into the circle and struck the heavy man with all his might. He didn't budge an inch.

"You're pretty strong," the fat man grunted. He picked up the charging man and held him over the fire.

"Stop!" he screamed, the flames licking his feet. Sweat rolled down his face, but the fat man didn't loosen his grip or move. "I lost, please let me go!"

Gon immediately jumped in, striking the fat man across the face with his boot. He dropped his opponent, and they both moved out of the circle, safe. Aliara grinned and caught Bisky's eye- she wanted to try next.

"I'll try," she offered, popping the cap off the whisky bottle.

The fat man took one look at her and laughed. "A little girl? You couldn't make me move even if you wanted to."

No, she really couldn't. If he stayed in his stance, she probably wouldn't be able to push him around.

"You'll move," she promised. "And you'll do it on your own."

The pirates in the bar roared with laughter. Aliara took this as her cue to start.

In a heartbeat, she had crossed the circle and to the man's back. As he turned to face her, she leaped over his head, spilling the bottle of whisky all over him as she went. Aliara landed, pleased with herself.

"What a waste of alcohol!" the man grunted, glaring at her. "What-"

Aliara jumped back at him and landed on his back. She wrapped her legs around the back of his neck and pressed her palms to his head.

His head erupted in flame.

 _"Gah!"_ He howled, waving his hands frantically. "What the hell?!"

Aliara took advantage of his weakened stance and position, jumped to the ground, and planted her shoe in his back. The fat man went sprawling, collapsing outside of the circle before he started attempting to get the flames out.

"I win," she said simply.

She strolled out of the circle and fist-bumped Killua and Gon both.

That was fun.

Oh, she couldn't _wait_ to show them what how her nen was doing.


	59. Nightmare

**Chapter** **59: Nightmare**

She shouldn't have turned her back.

The second she did, the large man came barreling at her, fueled by anger and humiliation. "You bitch!" he howled, his face red. "I'll kill you-"

She was ready to sidestep and take him out when one of the other pirates intervened, striking the fat man across the face and sending him tumbling across the bar. "Moron," he scoffed, glaring at his fellow pirate. "You made a promise, don't you dare go back on it."

The man grumbled but didn't get back up.

"C'mon," the other pirate motioned, crossing his arms as he stalked towards a back door. "I'll take you to the boss."

* * *

Aliara had never been great at sports.

She was a 'jack of all trades' if anything- the techniques required for sports were not her forte. She'd tried with her brothers- basketballs just fell off her fingertips, the puck seemed to float _through_ her hockey stick, the volleyball would always hit her in the face, and so on. Darts was a good one for her because she had good aim, but did that even count as a sport?

So when she saw that the old lighthouse had been converted into some sort of gym, she was very tempted to back out.

There was one tall, muscular man lifting weights in the middle of the gym who gave off the aura of a leader. Sure enough, the leading pirate went over to him and jerked his thumb at Aliara and the rest of the group. "Visitors."

The man paused, then let his hands fall to his sides. He had an odd smirk plastered on his face. "What do they want?"

"Seems they want to challenge us," the pirate replied.

The smirk never left the man's face as he set his weights down and approached the group. "Well, then. Let's start the contest. We have fifteen people, and you have sixteen, so one person can just sit out. Doesn't matter who. We'll fight one-on-one in a series of challenges, and our side decides the method of combat. If you win, we'll leave the island immediately."

Normally, when someone promised something, Aliara would always be suspicious or skeptical- everyone would break that promise at some point. But this man sounded so pleasant and genuine that she almost let her guard down. _Almost._

"What happens if we lose?" she called out.

The man focused on her, smirking (his face bothered her a lot for some reason). "Nothing at all. You just have to leave."

Now that sounded very suspicious.

"Let's begin," the man called, and then the tension in the room thickened. Boxing was the first challenge, and even though the member from their side looked like he had it in the bag, he lost. Aliara watched as the other team's boxer severed his hand from his wrist to send a well-placed uppercut into the other guy's chin. It was incredibly well done- especially since he pulled his hand back to his wrist immediately. It was so fast that some of the others didn't catch it.

After that, Killua hinted at them to purposely lose their matches. Aliara didn't have to try any, but their side intentionally lost all of their matches and left. Since you needed a team of fifteen to even think about challenging the pirates in the gym, almost everybody left- the bombers only had a team of three, there was no way they could get the card. Only one other man had stayed behind.

"Now what?" Aliara huffed, pulling her backpack up on her shoulders.

"We gather a team of strong people," the other man (he kind of resembled a gorilla?) replied, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"This challenge was probably set up to start fighting within the group," Killua said with a huff.

"How?" Gon and Aliara asked in unison.

The white-haired boy shrugged. "Because if we win the card, the maximum number of copies we can actually get is three using the copier card thing. So out of fifteen people, who's going to get the cards?"

The black-haired girl frowned. It made sense. "But we need at least eight people," she insisted. "And what if we lose one?"

"A team of eleven would be ideal," Gorilla Man put in.

Killua nodded in agreement. "Yeah, probably."

Aliara tuned out the rest of their conversation until they mentioned getting somewhere to rest for the night. Gorilla Man recommended a place is Masadora, so that was where they went- they managed to get a hotel room for the night, which included food in the morning. They'd discuss in the morning what they were going to do.

Bisky, Gon, Aliara, and Killua all chose to go cheap- they got a one bedroom hotel room. Bisky took the bed, and the trio took their places in the living room. Considering they'd spent their time when they were training sleeping under falling rocks, this was very nice. The boys even insisted that Aliara took the couch, which was a blessing.

After hugging the boys good night (...and _maybe_ a cheek kiss for Killua), Aliara passed out on the couch.

* * *

She yawned, stretching out her arms. Dreamless sleep.

Light fell into the room from a window, and Aliara grabbed at her blankets and pulled them over her head. Sunlight in the morning? How annoying.

"Hey, Killua," she said sleepily, "what time..."

Aliara trailed off.

She hadn't used blankets last night. Why did she have blankets?

And she thought the hotel room didn't have windows. How was light streaming in?

The black-haired girl shoved herself up, instantly alert. This wasn't a hotel room at all- this was her bedroom in her mansion. She pushed the heavy sheets off of herself and jumped off the bed like she was electrocuted.

Oh, this was her room for sure. The dark bed sheets, the unnecessary space, the huge closet. There was a polite tap at her door and she whirled around, completely flabbergasted. How had she gotten here?

"Lady Aliara?" someone called, and Aliara felt like someone had dumped a bucket of freezing cold water over her head. "You've overslept. Breakfast is waiting for you in the main dining room."

Impossible. How'd she get back in the mansion?

She tried to collect herself but found that she couldn't. Breathing hard, Aliara dashed to the shelf beside her bed, where she typically had her clock.

8:35. What the hell?

The door opened and she turned. A guard was standing at the door, and he smiled at her. "Your mother isn't pleased, my Lady."

"Don't call me that," she snapped without hesitation.

Where was her backpack? With her stuff?

Her backpack was across the room, leaning against the wall. She ran to it and pulled it open-

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

"Aliara!" someone snapped, and Aliara almost crumpled right then and there. Her mother was waiting at the door, glaring at her, dressed in a royal blue dress that flowed to her ankles. "What's taking you so long? You never sleep in."

"Shut up," Aliara snapped back, running back over to her shelf. Calendar, where was her calendar?

...Hadn't she burned this place down?

What the hell?

"How dare you speak to me that way," her mother hissed, stepping into her daughter's room. "What has gotten into you?"

"Where's Killua?" she demanded, turning on her mother with such a ferocity that she was forced to step back. The realization that her mother was probably hospitalized at the moment hadn't even crossed her mind. "And Gon? What have you done to them?"

"Aliara!" her mother snapped. "Calm yourself!"

"And Bisky, and Kurapika, and even Leorio? What the hell happened?!" she roared, eyes frantically scanning her shelf.

"I have no idea who you speak of," Adrianna Lorvell hissed. "Now enough with your attitude before I decide to punish you!-"

Aliara turned away when she found her miniature calendar that she knew she always kept in her room and nearly fumbled with it as she glanced frantically for the date. She always crossed off the day before she went to sleep.

December 28th, 1998.

The day she ran away from home.

But...

The current date was something in February. In the year 2000.

Impossible.

"What day is it?" she insisted quietly, turning to face her mother once more.

"Aliara! You devil, control yourself-"

Aliara didn't care what her stupid mother was saying and threw her calendar at her. "What day is it?!"

"December 28th, as your calendar reads," her mother snarled viciously. "You stupid child-"

No.

It was all a dream?...

Killua, Gon, Kurapika, Leorio, Bisky, the hunter exam, Yorknew City, her father, burning down the mansion, escaping with her siblings, Greed Island, the auction, the Heaven's Arena, Zushi, her nen, her amnesia-

All of that was a dream?

"No," she whispered, shaking her head rapidly. "No, no, no!"

And then the rest of the sounds around her faded out. Aliara crouched down, covering her ears with her hands and squeezing her eyes shut so hard that she was blinking stars away. "No!" she howled, her voice cracking.

And then everything faded to black.

* * *

"No!"

Aliara woke up, gasping like a fish out of water. She shoved herself up to a seated position and scanned the room frantically.

Their hotel room.

She was on the couch.

No windows, no blankets.

Aliara almost sobbed in relief. Just a nightmare. She clapped her hand over her mouth and tried to control her breathing.

"...Ali? You good?"

Crap.

Of _course_ Killua would be awake.

"Yeah," she managed, calming herself down. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?" he asked quietly, sitting up from his spot on the floor.

Aliara bit her lip. As easy as it would be to just confess everything to Killua, she didn't want to be a burden or appear vulnerable. "Just a stupid nightmare," she said with a wobbly smile. "It's fine. You can go back to sleep."

But Killua was already standing up. He carefully made his way over to the couch and sat down next to her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"N... Maybe."

"Here," he said quietly, opening up his arms. Aliara almost fell into him, immediately noticing how warm he was. She sighed and almost let herself get emotional, but she restrained herself at the last moment.

He was really warm and comforting.

Killua's arm was draped over her shoulders and he rubbed his thumb in circles aimlessly on her bicep. "You good?" he whispered, resting his head gently on hers.

Aliara felt tingles up her spine. Something about Killua just made talking to him so incredibly easy, so she wasn't surprised when the words slipped out without warning. "I just had a stupid nightmare," she said quietly, leaning into Killua. "I woke up at home, in my mansion, and it was December 28th, 1998."

He waited, obviously unsure of what that day meant to her.

"That was the day I ran away," she said with a sigh, forcing the words out. "And I thought that... that I'd dreamed all this up. Running away, meeting you guys, all of it. For a minute I believed that this was all something from my imagination."

Killua stiffened slightly but she forged on. "I mean, it was by far the worst nightmare I've ever had. I just... I really thought it was real. That you guys never existed and all these adventures were something that I had made up in my head."

He pulled her closer, if that was even possible, and squeezed her arms. She was completely pressed up against him and didn't mind in the slightest. "But you woke up," he said quietly.

"I did," she replied.

They cuddled together in silence for a few more moments before Killua added, "I'd find you, you know."

"You'd what?" she said with a chuckle.

"If you ever had to go back there. Or got amnesia again or whatever. I'd come back for you, no matter what."

That was all she needed to hear.

"Thanks, Killua," she murmured, snuggling closer into his shoulder.

He didn't reply, but instead tightened his grip on her. Aliara felt her eyelids fluttering shut. "You can sleep, you know," Killua said.

"I don't want anymore nightmares."

"I'll fight them off."

She laughed. "With what?"

He pondered this for a minute before grinning at her. "With my bare hands. Obviously."

Aliara laughed again and, after a quick internal debate, she leaned in and they kissed. Aliara felt her worries just melt away and she tucked her arm around Killua's waist. His hand went to the back of her head and kissed her back gently.

Yep. No more nightmares were getting to her tonight.

She pulled back and settled herself with her head resting on Killua's chest. "Thank you," she whispered.

She didn't even hear his response as her eyes fell closed.

* * *

 **xenocanaan:** Ah, I love Bisky! To be honest, I originally wrote that scene and then I remembered that Bisky knows next to nothing about Aliara's home life, so I had to redo it XD Thanks for your review! :D

 **RedBurningDragon:** Aha, thanks for your review! :)

 **Oof:** Awe, I'm so glad you think so! Thank you so much for your review! :)

 **Yozora531:** Uh oh- anime binge watching time? ;) I'll try my best to explain things as I go but I 10/10 catching up with the manga or anime, whatever you prefer. How far have you gotten? Thank you for your review! :D

 **snowcanwrite:** Aw, thank you! That makes me really happy! :) Thank you for your review! :D

 **Unfortunately I will not be able to update next week. I'm going on a vacation with my family and will be missing my update time for next week, nor will I have any time to write. Thank you all for your patience and I'll see you in two weeks!**

 **Also, next chapter is where they meet Hisoka, I'm so pumped XD**

 **And thank you for over 300 followers! Thank you so much!**


	60. Chrollo

**Chapter** **60: 'Chrollo'**

If someone had told Aliara what she'd been doing today, she would have happily snuggled back into Killua's arms, thrown a blanket over her head, and refused to move.

Step one was locating strong players.

So, they started browsing through their books over breakfast. Aliara was content with letting the boys hunt around, but tried her best to add her own input into the conversation- she didn't like feeling useless, and she wasn't comfortable letting the boys do all the work. She felt bad.

Gon was set on figuring out who had entered the game under the Phantom Troupe leader's name. It wasn't possible that Chrollo Lucifer could be in the game, because Kurapika had stolen his nen away for the time being and nen was necessary for the game.

"It's obviously a member of the Phantom Troupe," Killua had declared. "We shouldn't go after him."

"No matter who he is, I want to know why he's here!" Gon had objected.

Aliara had cracked her knuckles. "I hope it's Phinks."

Killua and Gon had ended up watching her as her blood lust built up until they both smacked her lightly on the head. "No fighting! We want people to join us!" Gon said sternly, frowning.

"But not him!" Killua objected, whirling on the dark-haired boy.

"We should!" he'd insisted.

"We shouldn't!" the white-haired boy had jabbed back.

"I'm with Gon," she ended up saying, surprising herself. "We should try."

Killua had rolled his eyes, but after debating with Bisky and the gorilla-like man (his name was actually Goreinu, but she kept forgetting) they decided to try. Whoever this person was, he had no imposed slot cards and no intention of completing the game, so it was likely that he wouldn't want the reward card.

"Let's get going!" Gon called, holding up the card.

"Yeah, whatever," Killua grumbled, glaring at both of them.

Aliara grinned, lighting her palm on fire. "I want to punch his lights out!"

"But we don't know who the hell it is!"

"All the more reason to punch him!"

They started bickering again, and Goreinu watched on in shocked silence, shaking his head. Bisky grinned at him and assured him that this was normal. Gon and Killua started fussing over the card when Bisky grabbed Aliara's arm gently. "You're awfully chipper this morning."

Aliara shrugged, slipping her gloves on and flexing her fingers. "I had a nightmare last night, but afterwards I was fine."

Bisky's smirk grew at an alarming rate and her eyes glittered as she whispered, "could it have anything to do with the adorable cuddle session I saw this morning?"

"Bisky!" Aliara hissed loudly, her face growing red. She shoved Bisky's hand away as the blonde girl giggled. Killua and Gon both stared at them with blank expressions, so Aliara waved her hands in front of her face. "Let's get going!"

"Use Accompany!" Gon yelled, holding the card up above his head. "To Chrollo Lucifer!"

There was a swirling sensation in Aliara's stomach as they were surrounded by bright light and transported to who-knows-where. When her stomach had finally settled, she looked around and saw the rest of her group staring at something in the lake.

A man.

A tall, pink-haired man that she recognized all too well.

But to make it worse... He was completely naked.

Aliara froze up, stiffening. She tried to speak but she had no words. Her cheeks flamed fire engine red as Hisoka turned to face them with no shame at all, and Aliara had never been more mortified.

A hand slapped over her eyes immediately and she was almost glad to be able to see nothing. "Hey," she complained, even though she was secretly grateful.

"Well, well, well~" the jester trilled. "Look who it is."

Aliara felt the tension in the air shift and she immediately shifted into her fighting position. Killua, whose hand had been covering her eyes, unfortunately sunk back into his own stance and withdrew his hand.

Oh, _god._ This was something she didn't want to see.

"Put some clothes on, you pervert," she snapped, forcing herself to look only at his creepy eyes. _Just his eyes, don't look down, don't look down!-_

"Need I remind you that you are the ones who interrupted my bath?" Hisoka purred.

Aliara glared heavily at him before feeling around the side of her backpack for the spot where she always kept her sunglasses. Immediately, she snatched them and slipped them on, then flicked it to heat sensor mode. "Much better," she said with a sigh.

"Sunglasses make it better?" Goreinu said, confusion evident in his tone.

"They pick up heat signatures," she explained, grinning. "So I can see his shape, but not specifics."

"Smart," Killua commented. She felt a rush of pride.

"So," Hisoka mused, "if I turn to the side-"

"Don't!"

Pausing, Aliara looked around for Bisky. The blonde-haired girl hadn't said anything yet. To her disgust, Bisky was peeking between her fingers and _drooling_ over this crazy man's physique. "Bisky!" Aliara scolded, hissing through her teeth.

The blonde girl squeaked and turned away, her cheeks bright red. "How embarrassing!" she whispered, peeking around again. Bisky turned and ducked behind a tree, her eyes sparkling like gems. "So good looking," Aliara heard Bisky whisper.

Well, it wasn't like Hisoka wasn't fit. He certainly had muscles and a nice physique, but he was not someone that she wanted to look at. Her eyes flitted to Killua briefly and her cheeks heated up.

...Did Killua look like that?

Aliara's face turned an even darker shape of red as she squeaked and hid her face in her hands. _Bad Aliara, bad, no-_

"You good, Ali?" Killua asked quietly.

"Y- Yes," she stammered, fanning her face desperately.

Hisoka slowly- very very achingly slowly- started drying off and pulling his clothes on. "So what brought you to me?" he mused, tugging on his pants.

"We're looking for Chrollo," Gon said, unaffected (seemingly) by Hisoka's nudity. "We wanted to ask him why he came to Greed Island."

The jester frowned and pondered this for a while as he pulled on his shirt. Aliara reluctantly took off her sunglasses, sliding them into their compartment in her bag. "I'm also looking for him," he eventually said. "There is a way to remove the nen that Kurapika performed on Chrollo. I wanted to tell him, so I'm looking for his whereabouts. I remembered that the Troupe was interested in this game, so I was hoping to draw the members of the Troupe to me by using his name."

 _He sounds like he's lying._

"Hisoka faked being a Spider," Killua explained quietly.

Aliara felt a flare of anger rise up in her chest. "Wait, so you dropped me off a building just for kicks?!"

Killua and Gon both stared at the black-haired girl before turning to Hisoka, who was smirking. "You look to be in good health, unfortunately. I was hoping for a bit of lasting damage."

"Lasting?!" Aliara demanded angrily, stepping forward. Both Killua and Gon grabbed her arms and held her back from lunging at Hisoka out of sheer rage. "I had amnesia and dislocated my shoulder, you fucking _prick!"_

"Did you now?" he said, his smirk growing even wider. "Yet you remember me fine."

"I got over it," she snapped furiously, throwing off Gon's hands that were clamped on her arm and then wrestling herself out of Killua's grip. "I'm fine," she assured them quietly. "Sorry, I got a bit frustrated."

"A pity," Hisoka said loudly, sliding a hand through his hair, "especially since I wanted to see the trauma it would bring my fruit here."

"Fruit?!" Gon said indignantly.

"Trauma?!" Killua protested angrily.

Now _Aliara_ had to hold back both of her best friends from lunging at the pink-haired maniac, which she was failing at miserably. Killua nearly slipped from her grasp, and when she got her grip back on him, Gon pulled away. At first she thought that he was going to lunge, but he took a step back and took a heavy breath. "I'm fine, Ali," he said, evidently frustrated. "He just makes me really angry."

Aliara yanked Killua back one last time and grabbed him around his waist, pulling him to her. "It's okay," she whispered, and the white-haired boy finally relaxed. He rested his hands on hers for a brief moment before he squeezed her hands once lightly and pulled away.

Killua could've attacked Hisoka easily if he wanted. It was anyone's guess, but Aliara thought that maybe he just needed something to be angry at. Something to hit.

Hisoka's eyes widened and he eyed the two of them. "Oh, how interesting!~"

Aliara's face burned _again_ and she huffed angrily, turning away. Killua crossed his arms, glaring at Hisoka, but his face was red as well. Aliara wasn't so sure about asking Hisoka to join them anymore- sure, he was crazy strong, but he was also a psycho and a perverted maniac.

"So, what else do you want?" Hisoka said lazily, slicking his hair back. "It's not like you traveled all this way for one question."

The raven-haired girl was about to pipe up when Bisky stepped forwards. "Actually," she said, her eyes wide and glittering, "we're looking for skilled fighters. Would you like to be our team mate?"

Aliara reeled back and stared at Bisky in shock and horror. Killua and Gon were doing to the same. "Bisky-" Gon started.

"What? Sure," the jester said with a shrug. "Why?"

"Wait!" Goreinu piped up, speaking up for the first time in a while. "I object, isn't he dangerous?"

"Bisky," Killua snapped fiercely, glaring at her, "you have no idea what he's like!"

Bisky shrugged, turning her back to Hisoka. "It'll be fine," she said calmly as she spelled out letters with nen, out of view from Hisoka. "I feel like he and I are really alike."

 _He's lying to us._

So Bisky agreed with her.

The blonde girl pulled them aside and started sorting through the situation. "To be more precise, I don't think that's he lying, I just think that he's not telling us the whole truth."

"I thought so too," Aliara said quietly, nodding to Bisky.

Gon stared at both of them pointedly. "How can you tell?"

"Intuition," the blonde mentor replied, and Aliara just shrugged and nodded along.

"Just intuition," Killua repeated.

"Maybe it's a girl thing," Aliara said with a wicked grin, high-fiving Bisky.

"Anyways. If he's lying about Chrollo, having him with us will let us keep an eye on him. I don't know much about him but he seems really strong," Bisky pointed out.

So they agreed. Hisoka would join them.

Goreinu looked more freaked out by the minute, and he kept eyeing Hisoka like the pink-haired man was going to lunge out and cut his head off at any minute. Aliara walked beside Gon and Killua, in front of the rest of the group, and Killua gave her a lopsided smile. She felt a bit better.

Until both the boys stiffened up and turned to glare angrily at Hisoka- he was watching them. More like... _staring_ at them. "You!" Killua growled, cheeks flushed, "Walk in front!" Hisoka complied with a smirk on his face.

Aliara burst into a quiet fit of giggles and both the boys swatted her angrily.

"We have to find ten others for our group, right?" Hisoka questioned, turning to Goreinu, who nearly jumped out of his skin.

Aliara listened to them discuss plans with a frown. Hisoka had this weird, contradictory way of talking that made her skin crawl. He seemed oblivious to cards and spells and such (not like she was much better) but the way he asked questions about things or commented on things was odd.

"We're here," Hisoka said eventually, pointing. "Love Love, the city of romance."

Come to think of it, she had no idea where they'd been heading to.

What the hell?

"It's a city where you can have fun meeting people in various ways," Hisoka explained as they entered the city, gesturing to a young girl who was searching for her glasses. "If you help her find them, she'll be your friend." He pointed to Goreinu. "Be careful of the corner."

A half second later, a girl slammed into Goreinu as she whipped around the corner. She glared at him, shouted a few things, and ran. Hisoka was busy telling Goreinu not to apologize when Bisky bumped into a pretty man who was looking for models, and she would've jumped after him if Killua hadn't stopped her. Gon went to go help a girl being surrounded by a few men and Bisky immediately stopped him, pulling him away. Hisoka started leading them through the city.

Killua stiffened slightly and paused momentarily before resuming his pace. "What is it?" Aliara whispered.

He shook his head. "I'll tell you when we have a second."

Aliara pursed her lips but nodded. He'd let her know when he got a chance.

"Killua, Ali," Gon called, thinking, "we should invite Tsezugara to join our group. He's experienced, so joining up will be simple and easy. Even if he doesn't, it's nice to have him in our contacts so we can keep track at how he's doing."

"Fair enough," Aliara agreed.

Gon nodded and turned to Hisoka. "Hisoka! Show us your binder, I want to see if you've met someone named Tsezugara. We need to contact him."

Killua was calculating something, Aliara was sure of it. His eyes shifted slightly between Gon and Hisoka and she knew immediately that he had thought of something and that something was working the way he wanted it to. The little smirk on his face gave him away. But what was it?

"Here he is," Hisoka said simply, showing Gon his binder. The dark-haired boy excitedly moved over to Hisoka.

Aliara noticed Killua pause. Something hadn't gone as planned.

Goreinu agreed to contacting Tsezugara, and they used a spell card to contact him and then fly to him. Aliara's stomach took its time to settle as Goreinu did all the talking, explaining what they wanted from Tsezugara and why, and what was in it for him. Eventually, the tall man agreed.

"But our success depends on if you win or not," Killua called from his spot next to Bisky. "Show us your ren."

Aliara wanted to laugh. Serves him right.

"Oh, how the tables have turned," Tsezugara mumbled with a shake of his head. He crouched and leaped, but his vertical was incredible- he even hovered in the air for a couple seconds as he called out his vertical of 16.8 meters.

"Could we try that?" Aliara asked Gon and Killua excitedly. Flying had always been a crazy concept to her- she'd imagined herself soaring out of her bedroom window at home on more than one occasion, and she'd always wanted to fly. This wasn't quite the same thing... but pretty close.

"He probably concentrated his aura on his legs," Killua mused, already crouching.

Gon grinned. "I want to try too!" He sunk down into a low crouch.

Aliara shrunk down, bunching her muscles, and at the same time they all sprung upwards. The dark-haired girl forced the nen out of her legs and propelled herself upwards- and to her surprise, they easily soared right by Tsezugara. _Take that!_ she wanted to yell childishly.

"Ha! I win!" Killua gloated as he stared down at the both of them. He was only ahead of Gon by a meter, and Aliara was so so close to being at Gon's level.

Gon glared, "damn!"

"Close," she added under her breath as they all fell back down to the ground. She was really enjoying the tortured look on Tsezugara's face.

"One more!" Gon called, facing Killua.

"Yeah, again!" she demanded.

"Fine!" Killua agreed.

They tried again, but Killua beat them both again. Gon insisted on a third round, and they all jumped again- but this time, Aliara tried using the springs on the bottoms of her shoes.

It worked beautifully. Killua's cry of protest was lost in the wind as she easily jumped an extra ten feet, way above Killua's head. "I win!" she cheered, falling back to the ground.

"That's cheating!" the boys both chorused in unison.

"No, I'm just being resourceful!" Aliara objected, laughing.

"Again!"

 _Actually,_ she decided, _the sports are going to be fun- after all, these two make everything interesting._

* * *

 **Keep Calm and Be Ninja:** Thank you so much! I'm so happy you enjoyed! I was trying to figure out how to write their relationship, because Killua can be quite the character XD and thank you so much, I'm trying my best not to make it mushy but it's hard XD Thank you for your review! :)

 **xenocanaan:** That'd honestly be terrible, I can't believe I made Aliara go through something like that :/ But thank you very much for your review! :D

 **digilover23:** Ah thank you! Thanks for your review! :)

 **RedBurningDragon:** I considered many possibilities for how their encounter would go, but their initial reaction in the manga won out over attacking immediately- besides, I think it turned out pretty well! Thanks for your review, as always! :D

 **robertastarcris:** Thank you! :)

 **Oof:** Aw, thank you! Thank you so so much for your review! :D

 **kitsunelover300:** Really?! Aw, thank you, that makes me really happy! :) I'm trying to keep Killua in character and I think it's working XD Thank you so so much for your review! :D

 **I'm terribly sorry for my delay. My trip was wonderful! But unfortunately I've had to work a lot recently (I'm actually on my work break right now, oops) and I didn't want to deliver a half-assed chapter, so I used two extra days to add onto it. Initially, it was 1,600 words and that wouldn't do it for me.**

 **I'm sorry we didn't get to dodgeball! Hisoka's part ended up taking a while XD Next time for sure!  
**

 **Thank you all! I can't believe the follower count! Much love for all of you :)**


	61. Razor

**Chapter** **61: Razor**

Aliara felt her stomach flip around as they went back to the gym.

The pirates sneered at them again. In their strategy, their team had chosen to bring along random people from the streets to fill their team. All they had to do was win and they'd be fine. Tsezugara's team had four people; with Goreinu and Hisoka, they had ten people. There was enough room for error for two of them, which made Aliara feel a bit better. But she still didn't want to lose.

Another one of Tsezugara's group was declared the winner, which made three wins. Their leader, Razor, made eye contact with one of the other pirate thugs and he nodded discreetly. They were up to something.

"Hey, bitch!" the fat man suddenly turned and snarled, whipping his hat off his head. "You gave me a nasty burn. We're fighting outside."

He took a menacing step towards her, but Aliara held her ground, glaring up at him with her arms crossed. "Don't we have to fight in here? Aren't those the rules?"

"The game's over," he snapped, "unless you want me to kill you right here."

"Bring it," Aliara quipped, grinning at him.

"Bopobo," Razor said slowly, picking up a dodge ball, "that's a breach of contract. That's back to jail for you."

The large man snorted and jabbed a finger at Razor. "I don't care, I'm quitting this piece-of-shit game. Anyone with me?" He turned around to face the rest of the pirates, who all had unsure expressions on their faces. "If we all gang up on him, he's dead meat, and then we can use a boat or something to get off this stupid island!"

Without hesitation, Razor whipped around and flung the dodge ball at Bopobo's head.

Aliara's eyes widened and she shuddered visibly as the dodge ball tore through the pirate's head, spraying blood across the gym floor. Bopobo's lifeless body tumbled to the floor and was followed by a tense silence.

Several of the people they had brought with them started backing up. "He killed his own guy!" one of them whispered loudly, and the others nodded along with him. "These guys are bad news!"

Tsezugara tried to calmly explain to them that they didn't need to participate; they only needed to be there to bring the total number of people to fifteen and they were free to back out should they lose their matches. Eventually, the frightened crowd agreed to stay.

"What about the sumo match?" Aliara demanded, turning away from Tsezugara and trying to focus on the current situation.

Razor shrugged. "You guys can have the win."

"And we never said who was competing," she pointed out, trying to hide her smirk. She turned to the freaked out group and nodded at one man who was shaking in his boots. "Congrats, you just won the sumo match."

"I did?" he said in confusion.

Aliara turned back around and grinned at Bisky. "We're doing really well."

"We're at four wins," Bisky agreed. "We're in good shape."

"And we still have to go," Killua said, cracking his knuckles.

Razor smiled oddly and squeezed a dodge ball in his hand. "My turn. My theme, with eight people playing, is dodge ball!"

 _You're kidding._

She had just watched him _kill_ someone with a dodge ball. No way.

Around Razor, oddly-shaped creatures with numbers on their chests rose up from the ground. They looked like they were wearing body suits and had crazy black hats with white spheres hooked onto them.

Aliara frowned. With their group, Hisoka, Tsezugara, and Goreinu, they only had seven people. How was this going to work?

Goreinu immediately started questioning the validity of his theme and how the wins were going to work, and soon the extras they had brought along started to panic. They had done the math and realized that they needed one more person to join them, and after seeing Razor's display with the dodge ball, no one wanted to.

"This isn't good," she mumbled, turning to Gon. "We're going to need one more."

"Why couldn't it be seven?" Killua grumbled.

Hisoka started talking about his theory that Razor wasn't a character of the game- he was a living human being. He was right, of course- and he was also a game master.

"Does that mean you might know Ging?" Gon called out, suddenly very eager.

"So you're Gon?" Razor asked quietly.

Gon nodded vigorously. "Yeah, do you know him?"

A huge wave of aura nearly knocked Aliara off her feet. The amount of nen that Razor had was insane, and now he had thrown it all out as he grinned at Gon. "Your dad told me not to go easy on you," he warned, clenching the dodge ball in his hands.

That was the final straw for the others. With loud screams and cries of protest, the extras they had brought with them took off. One of Tsezugara's men tried to call them back, but there was no point. His calls fell on deaf ears.

"It's fine," Goreinu said with a sigh, "let them go."

"But we need one more," Bisky pointed out, frowning.

Goreinu shut his eyes briefly, and with a burst of energy, a white gorilla made entirely of nen popped up from the ground. "It's the same as what you're doing," he pointed out, crossing his arms and facing Razor defiantly. "No objections, I assume?"

Razor nodded. "Of course not."

Aliara gaped. _He really is a gorilla man._

They all lined up in the court, with Razor's men on one side and her own team on the other. "I'll explain the rules now," Razor called. "Seven players will be inside the court and one will be outside. A team loses when no players are left in the court. When a player is hit, they move outside the court. However, you have the opportunity to bring one person back into the court, including the person already outside."

Aliara's heart pounded in her chest. She knew how dodge ball worked but she'd never played it before, and Razor was freaking her out.

Razor started getting more technical, explaining the little bits about hitting multiple people and such, but Aliara's heart was pounding so loud that she almost couldn't hear.

"Uh..." Gon mumbled.

"What?" Aliara tried.

Killua rolled his eyes. "Either avoid it or catch it."

"Catch it?" The black-haired girl demanded incredulously. "How are you supposed to catch _that?!"_

The referee, who was one of Razor's minions with the number 0 painted on his chest, pulled out the lone dodge ball and held it up. "We'll begin with a throw in."

"I'll go," Killua offered, facing off against the tallest of Razor's nen monsters with the number 6 on its chest. When the ball was tossed up, Six didn't even care- it ran back to its side of the court with Razor. Killua snatched the ball and gave it to Goreinu.

"You can have the first serve," Razor said pleasantly.

"A needless favour," Goreinu said with a smirk, and he whipped the ball. Number 4 was struck and fell, and Goreinu's nen beast retrieved the ball and threw it back to Goreinu. He repeated his process, and a second nen beast fell. "This is too easy," the gorilla man said with a chuckle.

"You jinxed it," Aliara grumbled under her breath, bouncing around on her toes. She flexed her fingers, happy for being able to wear her gloves.

Indeed he did. Razor caught the next ball with ease and tossed it back at Goreinu. The dodge ball was moving as fast as a train, and Goreinu did the only thing he could- he switched places with his nen gorilla. The gorilla evaporated- only after the dodge ball had blown his head off.

"Interesting," Razor mused. Goreinu was now technically out.

Aliara watched carefully as Razor passed the ball to one of his minions on the outside, and soon, there was a passing square- the beasts were whipping the ball around so fast that her eyes could barely keep up. They all backed into a circle, but it was too late- the ball hit Tsezugara in the side and rebounded off. Killua caught the ball and Aliara watched his arm muscles seize up- it was heavier than he bargained for.

Tsezugara collapsed, coughing. He eventually staggered to the outside court and collapsed- he was out. For good.

She frowned and wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. The longer this went on, the scarier it got. Tsezugara was experienced and still got injured- badly.

"Give Hisoka the ball," she urged Killua.

Killua frowned at her before his eyes widened in realization, and he handed the ball to the jester. Hisoka grinned, licking his lips, before taking out one of Razor's nen beasts easily and pulling the ball back to himself. His nen, as it was turning out, would be incredibly useful.

Until two of Razor's beasts- 6 and 7- merged together to form 13 and caught the ball. Hisoka frowned, letting go with his nen.

"Ready?" Killua whispered, and his aura flared up.

"Sure," Aliara said casually, trying to hide her nerves.

Razor whipped the ball- and Aliara almost cried out as it struck Gon in the forehead and he was sent tumbling backwards. "Gon!" she and Killua cried out in unison as they ran for him. He was okay for the most part- his forehead was bleeding, but that was it. "Get first aid," she insisted, shoving him away.

"But I can come back in," he protested. "We can bring one person back, remember?"

"First aid comes first," Aliara said firmly. "Come in later."

He eventually agreed, and the next few minutes all blurred together for Aliara. Goreinu took his revenge and managed to successfully hit Razor from outside the court, but after a flurry of catches and odd passes, the ball was sent back and knocked Goreinu out. He and his nen beast wouldn't be able to return.

It was still four versus three. Aliara, Bisky, Killua, and Hisoka were the only ones left on their side, but they were strong, and Aliara knew it. So why was her heart pounding so much?

She was on one side of the court, next to Hisoka- but Killua was on the other side. He glanced at her briefly and nodded, and she tried to force a smile.

Here he comes.

Razor threw the ball with the same amount of power he had been using the entire time- basically, enough to take her head off. He threw it at Killua, who thankfully ducked aside- but the ball curved.

The ball fucking _curved_! How the hell did that work?

Either way, the ball blasted towards them. Bisky jumped and twirled out of the way, narrowing avoiding the projectile's path, and Hisoka twisted.

Heart pounding, Aliara twisted away and the ball blasted by her face. She was only allowed one second of relief until one of Razor's nen creations caught it from the outside and whipped it right back at her.

"Ali!" she faintly heard someone call, but she had already snapped her hands up in front of her face. If she dodged, they'd all have to dodge again, and it was too risky- besides, she was already twisted around oddly and counted dodge properly even if she wanted to.

The ball slammed into her palms and Aliara threw all of her aura into her forehead and her hands. She felt pain rush up her fingers and her head and she nearly stumbled, but someone's hands pushed against her back and stabilized her.

It was Hisoka.

She pulled the ball down and turned to Hisoka, frowning at him. "Thanks."

He shrugged. "If you hadn't stopped it, you would've hit me."

"Ali!" Killua called, immediately rushing over and frowning at her. "Are you good?"

"I'm fine," Aliara said firmly, trying not to shake. "Thanks to Hisoka, oddly enough." Killua shot him a look and Hisoka shrugged, licking his lips.

Killua turned back to her and brushed his hand across her forehead. "You're bleeding," he pointed out.

"Can't feel it," she said with a shrug, her cheeks tinging slightly.

Unfortunately, Bisky was out. While the ball hadn't hit her, it had nicked her dress. Gon called himself back in and immediately started arguing with Killua about the match, but Aliara was too busy trying to calm herself down to actually try and break them apart.

"Ali," Gon called out eventually, turning away from his white-haired friend, "can you hold the ball out for me?"

"Are you going to hit it?" she asked softly. Gon nodded. "Alright, one second." She handed the dodge ball to Gon and slipped off her gloves, tossing them to Bisky at the side. Gon gave her the ball back and she moved up to the center line, holding the ball out.

"I can do it," Killua piped up, turning towards her.

Aliara frowned- why did it matter who held it? "I'll be fine," she insisted, pushing the ball out in front of her. "Go ahead, Gon."

His aura spiked rapidly, and Aliara blinked- she would never stop being surprised by how much power this boy actually had. With a battle cry, Gon punched out, and the ball ripped from her hands and took out the largest nen beast on the other side.

Oh.

 _That_ was why Killua had offered to take the ball.

Her hands hurt. Badly. She knew that she'd have to use no nen if Gon wanted to get the best results, but she hadn't exactly planned for injury. She took one quick glance at her hands before jamming them in her sweater pockets. They were red and swollen already.

"Alright," she said, forcing a smile on her face. "Let's do it again!"

Killua frowned at her but Aliara glared heavily at him. No switching. Gon had asked her to do this. There was no way she would let him know how much it actually hurt.

Bisky retrieved the ball and tossed it back to Aliara. The black-haired girl held the ball again as Gon punched it- with even more stored power than before. The ball tore out of her hands and hit Razor dead on, but the man bumped it upwards. He tumbled backwards but was already getting up in time to catch the ball- luckily, Hisoka's bungee gum nen was still active and he managed to pull the ball back towards them.

"Back," Razor said quietly. He was coming back in.

Aliara hands were killing her. She jammed them in her pockets, ignoring the throbbing and heat she felt in her hands. This was bad.

"Hey," Killua said softly, tapping her on the shoulder. She turned to face him and he reached for her hands in her pockets. She almost cried out in relief- his hands were cold and it was such a relief from the hot pain- but he frowned at her. "I told you I could take the ball," he insisted, looking up at her with concern written all over his face.

"I'll be fine," she said quietly, looking away. "I should be able to take one more."

"But it's your hands," Killua pointed out, taking both of her hands in his.

"So?"

"Your hands mean everything to you," he explained, his voice hushed. "I know that. I also know that you're a very proud person. So let me take the ball, even if it's just once. Okay?"

He was right. Without her hands, she couldn't build anything- and her inventions had changed her life. They were the best things that had ever happened to her.

She bit her lip and nodded.

Killua smiled softly, letting go of her hands and strolling back to Gon. Aliara's hands remained in her pockets, swelling and hurting, but she felt a lot better.

He cared. He really did. He never ceased to amaze her with how much her actually cared for her. And he seemed to know her inside and out.

A while ago, Killua knowing everything about her might've frightened her or made her feel vulnerable. Now? It just made her feel a whole lot stronger.


	62. Dodgeball

**Chapter** **62: Dodgeball**

Aliara's hopes in hiding the condition of her hands were crushed when she saw Tsezugara staring at her. _Of course he knows._

To make matters worse, he beckoned to them. "Come to the side, over here."

Grudgingly, Aliara dragged herself after Gon and Killua. Bisky nailed Razor's last minion with the dodgeball- so now, Razor was the only one left on that side, but he had the ball. "Gon, for your next attack," Tsezugara said, wincing as he held his side. "Let me hold the ball."

"But you're..." Aliara was about to point out that Tsezugara was out, but then she realized that this wasn't true- he was moving aside for injury. He could come back in if he felt necessary.

"Injured?" Tsezugara put in, attempting to finish her sentence.

"No," she protested, "I was going to say-"

"Because you're in much worse shape than I am, miss," he grunted, crossing his arms. Aliara ducked her head, flushing.

"I'm going to hold the ball next," Killua added, frowning.

He shook his head. "I can move nen through my body at high speeds, using it only for an instant so the attack is preserved. Let me hold the ball when you take care of Razor."

"We can't do that," Gon said, shaking his head.

Tsezugara blanked. "What? Why?"

"Well, 'cause then I'd be running away," Gon explained, glaring heavily at the floor.

"What kind of reasoning is that?!"

Aliara shook her head and offered Tsezugara a soft smile. "It's not that bad. I'm sure Killua will be fine."

"Show me your hands," Tsezugara insisted.

"They're fine," she protested, jamming her hands further in her pockets. A hand clamped down on her arm, the grip like a vice. "Bisky!" Aliara gasped, twisting her arm away. "Leave it, I'm fine!" The blonde girl frowned at her and reached again, this time successfully pulling Aliara's hand out of her pocket.

Her hands looked worse every time she saw them. Her knuckles were swollen and blistered and her fingers had swelled to twice their usual size. Plus the insane amount of redness and the odd burn scar from her training, they looked nasty. Aliara swallowed down a complaint and pushed her hand back in her pocket.

"Can you even feel anything past the pain?" Tsezugara said, a note of triumph leaking into his voice.

"I. Am. _Fine,_ " Aliara snarled, glaring at him.

"But do you want the same thing to happen to Killua?" the tall man countered, glaring at her. Aliara flinched, feeling a bit of guilt rise up in her. Maybe she should take the ball again, then.

"You're right," she agreed slowly, causing Tsezugara to relax slightly. "I'll hold it again, then."

"No! No, that's not what I meant!"

Killua shot her a glance and she winked at him. They'd already discussed it; Killua would take the ball, and she knew he wouldn't back down. She was just teasing Tsezugara. Killua smiled softly and turned to Gon. "Ready to go?"

Tsezugara sighed, turning to Gon. "Please talk some sense into them."

Gon frowned. "I know Aliara's hands are injured. And I know Killua's hands are going to be injured. But it has to be one of them." He looked up. "One of them has to hold the ball. I'm sorry, but it's only meant for Ali or Killua to hold."

Aliara felt her heart swell with love for Gon- he was so straightforward and pure and he probably didn't know the weight behind his words. But to Aliara? It meant the world. She'd grown up in a place where she could be replaced- if she messed up, there was always someone else who could do. But for something as simple as holding a ball, and Gon insisted they were the only ones that could? That was incredible.

"Well, we kind of have to figure out how to receive it first," she remarked, turning back to the court.

"Eh?" Gon said with a frown, turning to Razor, who was passing the dodge ball from fist to fist. "Oh. Right." They huddled together, the two boys, Hisoka, and Aliara, ready to make a plan. Graciously, Razor gave them time to do so. "I have an idea, so listen up," Gon instructed, and then he told them.

It was a good plan. Slightly awkward, but a good plan. Killua was growling and Hisoka was glancing at Killua with a smile. Aliara laughed. "Let's try it."

"Okay!" Gon said with determination as he rushed back on the court. The others were quick to follow. Razor raised the ball above his head, and in a flash, all his nen demons disappeared. All Razor's energy returned back to him, and he had, by far, the most impressive aura that Aliara had ever seen.

"Well," she mused, "At least now we don't have to worry about his crazy minions."

"Let's set up," Killua ordered, and they got in position. Gon was in the front, posed to catch the ball. Aliara was directly behind with her chest pressed up against his back and she had him squeezed in a tight hug, her legs pressed right up behind his. Killua had his back on her back, and his arms had stretched around to lock onto Gon's thighs. Hisoka was at the back, facing forward, with his arms reached around all of them.

"He's going to spike it!" Aliara called, suddenly feeling a little bit worried. Razor tossed the ball up high and started a run up.

But why would she be worried? She had her best friends next to her. They had her back. (Quite literally...)

He hit the ball with so much power that Aliara thought it would break Gon's hands. The ball went directly into Gon's waiting arms and Aliara felt a burst of nen and a push as she felt Gon move backwards.

The plan was that Aliara would support Gon's back while Killua would help to support their legs. If either one of them was unbalanced, they'd go flying. It relied a lot on teamwork and the correct amount of nen usage. Meanwhile, Gon would catch the ball, and Hisoka would use his nen to slow it down as much as possible.

And it was working. Gon was tensing up and Aliara tightened her grip as much as she could without squeezing the life out of Gon. They were being forced backwards, bit by bit.

But they caught it.

As soon as it was clear that Gon had the ball and they were all relatively uninjured, the people at the sidelines let out a cheer. Aliara hugged Killua fiercely.

Bisky was staring at the two of them oddly but turned away when she caught Aliara staring back at her. The black-haired girl brushed it off and clapped Gon on the back. "You did it."

" _We_ did it," the dark-haired boy corrected, grinning. "Let's finish this."

Killua lined the ball up, holding it in his hands, and Gon concentrated all his aura into his fist. He had even more power than the first few times, which was ridiculously insane. Nevertheless, Gon blasted the ball at Razor, the dodge ball tearing through Killua's hands, and the huge man deflected it back at them. Gon ducked- well, actually, he collapsed from lack of energy. The ball was set to fall outside the court, and it'd be their win- but Hisoka decided to be difficult and use his bungee gum nen to send the ball back at Razor.

Razor was all set to deflect it again, but the ball stuck to his arms. The sheer force behind the throw made Razor skid out of the court. It was their win.

"Gon!" Aliara cried, crouching next to him. "We won. Get up, we won!"

"Eh?" he mumbled, propping himself up.

"We did it," Killua said, crouching down next to them. Soon enough, they were tangled together in some sort of group hug. Aliara was beaming like an idiot until she looked down.

"Killua," she said, pointing, "your shoes!"

His shoes had been ruined. Probably from skidding across the floor and trying to keep them from falling over. The soles were almost completely torn off- probably not repairable. "I'll need new ones," he remarked, glancing at them.

Oh, no...

"Killua," Aliara said softly, refusing to look down anymore. "How bad are my shoes?"

The white-haired boy pursed his lips. "I don't know," he said honestly, and Aliara finally looked down.

Her shoes were destroyed. Not completely, but badly. The rubber siding had been torn completely off one shoe and partly off the other, and at some part in her shoe, the metal was tearing away. The hook she had installed at the front of the shoe was no longer there on one of them.

"Shit," Aliara muttered, cursing softly as she struggled to remove her shoes with her injured hands. "Oh my god, no."

"Can you fix them?" Gon said immediately.

The black-haired girl flipped the shoes over in her hands, pried off a loose strip of metal that she would've removed later anyways. "Yes. I think I can."

"That's good," Killua said slowly, watching her carefully. "But..."

"My stuff is in my backpack," she said to herself, like she was trying to assure herself more than anything, "and I have the tools I need. I may be able to make do with all the metal scraps I have in my bag but I'm not sure if I have more rubber. Or another hook."

Gon got up and went to talk to Razor, who apparently knew a thing or two about Gon's father. Bisky snatched Killua and Aliara away and took to bandaging their hands. Even after one shot, Killua's hands looked absolutely nasty.

"Ow," Killua complained as Bisky wrapped his hand up a bit too tightly.

"You idiot," the blonde lady grumbled. "Have you no concern for your own well-being? Idiot!"

Aliara and Killua made eye contact and smirked at each other.

As soon as they were done, they were led up to the top of the lighthouse, where the lady gave them the card they were looking for. After making a few copies, Tsezugara's group took one, Goreinu took one, and their group took the original.

Things went wrong after they'd gone outside and the Bomb Devil called.

Aliara, for one, was ignoring most of what was going on. Instead, she was setting to work on her shoes. With her heavily bandaged hands, she couldn't do too much of the technical stuff at all. She needed to be precise and make sharp moves, but she couldn't even hold her screwdriver properly. So she rummaged through her bag for the stuff she thought she'd need and set it aside, and removed to tiny scraps off her shoes that were bound to fall off anyways or were useless.

"Ali," someone called, and she blatantly ignored them until they called her name again.

She looked up, trying her best not to glare at anyone. "What?"

"Were you paying _any_ attention?" Bisky said with a scowl, crossing her arms.

Aliara grinned sheepishly. "Nope. Why?"

Before Bisky could yell at her, Killua swept in and cut Bisky off. "We've got three weeks," he explained quickly as the blodne girl scowled from behind him. "Three weeks to get a strategy to defeat the Bomb Devil and train."

"But you two won't be training," Bisky said immediately, glaring at Killua. "You two need to heal. I don't even know if you'll be fully healed in three weeks."

Aliara bit her lip. Her nen was mainly powered through her hands...

Unless...

"That's fine," she replied, a smirk growing on her face. "I have a plan."

* * *

 **I'm terribly sorry I haven't been replying to you all! My work schedule is hectic and my life is general is filled, and I feel so bad I haven't been able to get chapters up. (Actually, I'm on work break right now... Sigh)**

 **Thank you all for your reviews! I'm not replying to them this time but I hope you know how much I appreciate them. Thank you all! :)**


	63. Genthru

**Chapter** **63: Genthru**

"So," Killua said casually, sliding down against the stone with her. "What're you doing?"

Aliara paused what she was doing and looked up. Gon was working with Bisky a dozen feet away, trying to propel himself upwards from a one-armed handstand. She was currently working on fixing her shoes, which had been torn up completely. Bisky had allowed her to make a quick trip to Masadora and pick up supplies, so she had some more rubber and had managed to fix the outsides.

"Fixing these up," she replied, grinning and holding out her shoes like they were a prize. "They're almost back to normal."

"I don't think you can call those 'normal'," Killua remarked, smirking.

Aliara rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up. They're almost done. A bunch of the spikes were damaged but I had extras."

"How much longer will they take you?" the white-haired boy said, cocking his head.

She paused. "Maybe another ten minutes. Why, do you need something?"

Killua shrugged, shifting around on the dusty ground until he was sitting almost cross-legged, with one knee propped up. "Well, I just... I wanted to know what your nen is."

"My nen? Why?"

"Because we've seen Gon's," Killua explained, shaking out his bandaged hands. "And experienced it too." Aliara laughed. "I mean, I know yours is fire, but I know it's not _just_ that. What else do you have planned?"

"You know me so well," the dark-haired girl laughed, rolling her eyes. "Here, I'll show you."

"We're not allowed to do anything," he warned, crossing his arms.

Aliara grinned. "That's not what I meant. Here." With a sharp tug, she pulled her sketchbook out of her backpack (sending a few loose scraps of metal and a few screw sprawling across the ground) and opened it to a page that she had marked with a faded sticky note.

The white-haired boy accepted the sketchbook from her hands, his injured hands brushing hers, and studied the picture. It was a detailed drawing of a long scythe. The numbers on the page suggested that the staff of the scythe would be almost six feet long. The blade was long and colourless, curved with a wicked edge, and the staff itself had small spike decorations at the top part.

"Flip the page," she urged, so Killua flipped the sketchbook to the next page. Now it was a sword, with what looked like a sharp edge and little diamonds that accented the edges of the handle. To Killua's surprise, the blade was flaming.

"You made these?" he asked, handing the book back to her.

Aliara shook her head. "I never got a chance. I designed them but I never had enough material, and they were too big and there was so much material I needed so I never actually got anything done. So that's why I started with my shoes, because they were smaller and easier to hide from my mom.

"I'm going to twist my fire into different weapons," she blurted out, grinning ear to ear at the idea. "At least, that's the plan. They won't look exactly like they did in the pictures, but I'll modify them. The theory is that the fire will solidify enough to actually use it as a weapon, but it'll be red hot. That's why my gloves will be essential, so that I don't destroy my hands."

Killua's jaw slipped open and he could only stare. How complex would that be?!

To his surprise, Aliara recoiled almost immediately. "It's too much, isn't it?" she said, her voice lowered and laced with worry. "I don't know if I'll be able to make any of these, the only one I have right now is the gun, but I don't even know if that'll work-"

"It's great!" Killua said immediately, grabbing both of her hands and smiling at her in what he hoped seemed reassuring. "I'm just surprised you've thought so far ahead with it. I'm thinking but I don't have a solid plan yet."

"Oh," she breathed, relaxing but not letting go of his hands. "You're sure? You think this could work?"

"As far as I'm concerned," Killua said with a soft smile, "anything you put your mind to, you can do."

Pleased, he watched as the worry or anxiety that Aliara had been feeling melted off her face and she smiled back at him, her smile soft and genuine. "Thank you," she said honestly, squeezing his hands. "So what do have planned?"

His smile stretched into a grin. "Secret."

Aliara's jaw dropped and her cheeks tinged red. "But- But I just told you!"

"I'm still working on it," he confessed with a shrug. "It's a secret."

"Moron!" the dark-haired girl huffed, punching his shoulder lightly. "What is it?"

"Secret!~"

"Killua!"

* * *

The three weeks that Tsezugara had promised them flew by, despite Aliara not being allowed to train. Bisky, Killua, and Aliara worked on a plan to deal with Genthru and his two friends, which was going to involve a really really big boulder and some hidden cards. Gon was still trying to push himself off the ground with one hand by propelling his nen. They had around twenty four hours until they knew the group would come after them.

There was one thing that was bothering her, though...

"Who's going to pair up?" Aliara asked, glancing at Bisky.

The blonde girl paused. "What? What are you talking about?"

"There's three of them," the inventor pointed out, "and four of us. Genthru seems to be the main threat in their group, so who's going to pair up to fight him? Assuming that we're going with one on one. It seems safer than letting them pair up."

Bisky stared at Aliara for a few moments before she said softly, "I'm wondering if they're going to get a fourth guy."

"What?" Aliara turned to Killua. "Would they do that?"

"It makes sense," he said thoughtfully. "They'll realize that there's four of us, and they're going to want every advantage they can get. I wouldn't be surprised."

She cursed under her breath. "What do we do, then?"

Bisky started drawing out figures and diagrams in the dirt. "We'll use all our Accompany cards and such to make them think we're trying to escape. They'll follow, especially since we have two cards they want. We'll keep extra copies of Accompany hidden and then use the Sword of Truth to uncover them."

All this talk about the cards made Aliara dizzy. Bisky continued, "It'll take a fair amount of acting. We have to pretend like we're not expecting them, and then we have to split them up when they think we've run out of Accompany cards."

Gon jogged over, sweating, and knelt down next to Aliara as the blonde girl forged on. "When they think we're out of escape cards, we're going to split them up. We all can't risk being touched by the bomber."

"I want to fight him," Gon said with determination, his hand closing in a fist.

"Alright," Bisky agreed with a sigh. "We'll go over his abilities in a minute. But Killua and Aliara will split up- Killua, to make it look realistic, make it look like you're yelling at her to run or something- and they won't know who has the cards they want, so they'll split up. That's why I wouldn't be surprised if they brought a fourth guy." Aliara swallowed nervously. "Gon will take Genthru, and we'll handle the other three and meet back at Gon's spot when we're done. If there's only the three of them, then I'll pretend to hide and double back to check on Gon, though I doubt this will happen. The trap's already set up. Got it?"

All three of them nodded, expressions solid and determined.

Bisky clapped her hands. "Perfect. Any questions?"

"Yeah," Gon said, frowning, "how does Genthru not explode himself when he uses his Little Flower technique?"

"He surrounds his hand and arm with ko," Bisky explained, talking about a form of nen that they had learned a month or so back. "So he can't hurt himself but he hurts whatever he's touching."

Aliara nodded along. That made sense.

...Wait.

"I'm such an idiot!" she howled suddenly, standing up.

All three of the others stared up at her. "Be more specific," Killua said, smirking.

Aliara smacked him in the arm, glaring at him. "No, I've been so stupid! This entire time, I've been trying to change my gloves around so that I didn't burn my hands. I've been doing it wrong the whole time, I can just use nen!"

Bisky's face split into a shit-eating grin. "Ah, so you finally realized."

"You knew, and you _didn't tell me?!"_

"Well, you had to figure out for yourself."

 _"Bisky!"_

* * *

They were completely prepared when they saw the blinding light appear overhead, headed directly at them.

"Ready to go?" Bisky said, staring up at the sky.

Everyone nodded. Aliara cracked her knuckles. She was kind of looking forward to trying out her new idea, but at the same time, nervous for who she'd end up fighting. In a burst of white light, Genthru landed in the clearing area in front of them.

Bisky was right- Genthru had recruited a fourth. The bomber himself was wearing a long white and blue cloak, glasses, and had spiky blond hair and a dangerous smirk on his face. Next to him were three different men, one with dark hair that fell to his shoulders, another with spiky magenta hair and slanted eyes, and a third with clipped dark green hair and bright green eyes.

Bisky had specifically told them all- act like you're not expecting them, act worried. Acting had never been Aliara's strong suit, but she managed to bite her lip and duck her head. "What do you want?" Gon yelled, tensing up.

"Don't act so alarmed," Genthru said with a laugh, "we're only here to propose a deal."

"But we don't have anything," Killua protested, clenching his fists.

Aliara flexed her hands. They had healed well but weren't quite fully healed yet, so she was going to avoid using her hands as much as possible.

"Just hear us out," Genthru said calmly, grinning, his shifty eyes hidden behind his glasses. "It's a very reasonable deal. Even Tsezugara agreed to it."

 _Liar._

"Do you want to hear the deal?" He started walking forwards. "Then I'll go over there and we can talk."

"Stay where you are," the black-haired girl called out, hoping that she sounded slightly fearful or desperate or _something,_ at least. Bisky shot her a look that said that she pulled it off, thank goodness. "We''ll talk from here."

"That's no problem, because what I have to say is simple. We want to share the reward! We'll complete the game in everyone's place, take the reward from Battera, and split it with you. Agreeable?"

"Weren't you targeting us for elimination?" Killua said next, frowning. "How can we trust you?"

"We've changed our minds," Genthru said with a shrug. "As proof, Tsezugara has already left the game. You can verify this."

"We know he left, but that's not enough proof for us to trust you," the white-haired boy insisted. _So far, so good._

Genthru's cocky grin faded and he pushed his glasses up. "I guess you're right. So what do you want to do?" His voice went quiet and Aliara started getting goosebumps. "You wanna die? Cut the bullshit and give us the cards!"

Gon whipped out his card and called, "Use Accompany! To Soufeirabi!"

They were enveloped in light and thrown into the air, touching down safely in Soufeirabi. Aliara's stomach flipped as they did it a second time, then a third- that was all of their 'revealed' Accompany cards- in other words, all the ones that they would know about. "Use Return! To Masadora!" Bisky called, pulling out her next card, and Aliara repeated the same words, almost stumbling.

As soon as they landed, the four of them activated zetsu immediately and ducked for cover in the forest. Aliara held her breath as the other four landed on the path, glancing around. Then, they took off in the direction of the city.

"They think we've gone to buy more spell cards," Bisky whispered, nudging her. "Let's move to the trap site."

They all bolted in the direction of the place they'd already been to many times while they were setting their trap for Genthru. Aliara skidded to a stop in the relative area- a clearing surrounded by trees and covered in large roots. Bisky warned, "they're coming!" and Aliara glanced up to see the bolt of white light headed for them.

The bomber and his friends landed. Aliara's eyes instantly locked with the green-haired man's eyes and he smirked at her. She glared back at him.

"If you want the cards, you'll have to fight us!" Gon declared, staring Genthru in the eye.

"Gon, don't..." Killua hissed, but it was all a part of their plan. _Stick to the plan, stick to the plan._

Killua charged at the pink-haired guy and launched a fast kick at his head, which he blocked and shoved Killua away. "Ali! Bisky! Get out of here!" Killua called, turning to face them. Bisky stuttered something but Killua waved her off. "It doesn't matter! Just go!"

Aliara turned and bolted, straight back into the tree line. Just as she feared, the green-haired man took off after her. "Book!" Aliara called, hands almost fumbling with the card that she pulled out. The card flashed and turned into an Accompany card. She watched the man's eyebrows raise as she called, "Use Accompany! To Masadora!"

In a flash of light, she pulled herself and the chaser to a pre-planned spot: a small clearing on the other side of Masadora surrounded by trees with large roots. She skidded to a stop and jumped up on one of the tree roots, balancing herself as she faced her opponent.

The man frowned, facing her, and she finally got a good look at him. His dark green hair was smooth and pushed down against his head, and he wore a black leather jacket with blue jeans and black runners. His eyes were a light green, almost exactly like Aliara's except much lighter and a little more mischievous. He was actually kind of good looking, but Aliara didn't really care for that.

 _How am I supposed to beat this guy?_

"So," the man said with a shrug, "is this supposed to be some big plan or something?"

"Maybe," Aliara called back, shrugging carelessly. "I mean, we're trying to split you guys up. So it's just us."

He cocked his head. "And you're supposed to beat me?"

"That's the plan," Aliara confirmed, leaning against the tree trunk.

The green-haired man frowned, turning in a full circle and facing her again. "Genthru didn't mention that you kids would have any plans. We're supposed to be taking you by surprise."

"I'm not a kid," she said immediately. "I've never seen you with Genthru's group. Are you guys friends?"

"Hardly," he snorted, putting his hands on his hips. "They said that they needed to take cards from you guys and needed an extra person in case you all ran. I'm supposed to beat you and check your binder, and then they're paying me."

 _He's not exactly private with this information._

"So you've been hired by them? Like a hit man or something?"

"Yup," he replied casually. "And they said I can kill you after I take your cards, so it's an added bonus."

The tension in the area shifted. Aliara felt blood lust pouring out from her opponent and she frowned. He was very casual with his words but seemed to be skilled. "Well, that'd mess with my plans," she said with a sigh, crossing her arms. "So it seems I'll have to kill you."

His eyes lit up and he licked his lips, crouching. "As if you could, girly."

She frowned at him, irritated. She didn't like that nickname. "Try me."

"I'm Morro," the green-haired man said as he took a few steps forward. "And it'll be my pleasure to kill you."

"Aliara. Likewise."

And so he ran at her and Aliara immediately leaped around the tree and dove at him. His hand lunged out, trying to grab her, but she ducked and kicked out with her right foot, hitting the back of his leg. Morro hissed and brought his other foot down in an axe kick and she rolled out of the way, wishing she had her gloves so she could just point and shoot him. She'd hidden her bag in one of the rocks back in their training grounds with her gloves- she couldn't wear the gloves anyways, due to her swollen hands.

"C'mon, kid," Morro called, twisting and managing to kick her in the side. Aliara rolled over, almost completely uninjured- she'd used nen at the last second to protect her side. "Give up now and it won't hurt that much."

"I'm not a kid," she called back, leaping off the side of the tree and lunging at him. He twisted and she twisted with him, striking him in the stomach with her elbow. He grunted punched her in the shoulder as she twisted again and sank a beautiful uppercut into his jaw, which made her hands sting. She took a quick step back and swung her foot up, kicking him in the side of the head. "I'm thirteen!"

Morro kicked her in the stomach and she stumbled back, leaping for safety in a nearby tree. "Not bad for a kid," he said with a snarl, grinning at her.

"Considering you're getting your ass handed to you?" Aliara said sweetly, tipping her head to the side and smiling. "I'd say I'm doing pretty well."

The green-haired man smirked. "I like you, kid. Shame I have to kill you."

Aliara smirked right back at him. "As if you could," she mocked, repeating his words from earlier.

Morro narrowed his eyes and dove for her, faster than what she'd seem before. He was using his nen to increase his speed, she realized, and she ducked and rolled out of the way. She wasn't supposed to use her hands, so she lunged out with a kick that he blocked easily. _Okay, then. I'll try something new._

She made a fake with her fists that made him hesitate for a half second. He was good- he didn't fall for it, but it caused him to hesitate, which was enough to allow Aliara to lash her foot out and kick him in the head. Using her nen, she shielded her foot and surrounded her shoe and foot in flames as she kicked him.

"Shit!" Morro cursed loudly as the tips of his hair burned. He pushed her thigh and shoved her off, but the damage had been done. His clipped green hair was now burnt black on one side. "You brat," he snarled, combing frantically at his hair. "What the hell?"

"I'm just a kid," she reminded him with a mocking smile. Now, to finish this with the trap she'd already planned.

Aliara knew she had to lead him to a specific spot, so she leaped up into the trees and started weaving through the tree branches. Morro followed her with surprising agility, ducking under branches as he kept pace with her easily. Her advantage was her size: Morro was constantly brushing branches away or slowing down so he wouldn't get his head taken off by a branch, but she easily wove her way through with little effort.

There was a whistle by her right ear and Aliara shifted slightly from pure instinct. A silver knife windmilled beside her ear and sunk into the bark of a tree. _He's throwing knives!_ "Crap," she grumbled. She'd have to hurry up. A second knife sailed towards her, but Aliara was already moving and the knife impaled the branch where she just was.

"Alright," she mused to herself as she concentrated, clenching her fists. Aliara twisted, shielding herself from Morro's sight behind a tree for a split second. In that one second window, she tried Rhythm Echo. Another dozen dark-haired girls appeared at different places in the trees, all jumping through branches.

"What the hell, brat?" she heard Morro mutter as she jumped to the ground, tucking into a roll. Her copies did the same, and when Morro followed, landing easily on the grassy terrain, her copies all circled him dangerously.

Perfect. He was in the right spot.

Now all she needed was that vine that was hanging down from the nearby tree-

Suddenly, the green-haired man lashed out, his vicious cat-like eyes settling on her. "Gotcha," he hissed, and Aliara tried to duck but he was already reaching for her. For a second, she thought he'd missed, and she reached for the vine, but there was a sharp tug and was pulled back.

Her hair. He'd grabbed her ponytail.

"That's dirty, you asshole," she spat, trying to kick him.

Morro twisted elegantly and laughed. "So was your cloning trick. So I'd say we're even, hmm?"

His grip tightened on her hair- crap, he'd caught a lot of her ponytail- and he pulled another knife out of nowhere. "Now, let's see those cards."

"Nope," Aliara replied fiercely, her feet dangling off the ground as he pulled her up. Her hair felt like it was being ripped out of her skull.

"Then we'll do this the hard way," Morro snapped, and his knife slipped across the side of her neck.

Aliara gritted her teeth, and in a flash, whipped her hand up and grabbed the knife. Being careful not to cut her hands, she wrenched the hilt of the blade out of Morro's grip and pulled it into her own hand. It was the surprise and her speed that gave Aliara her advantage. When he had already pulled out another knife and was stabbing at her again, she made the split second decision to whip the knife through her hair.

The blade was sharp and cut her hair easily, and she dropped to the ground as Morro's second knife sliced through the air above her head. In a quick move, Aliara reached for the vine at the tree and yanked it- hard.

The vine pulled sharply on the well-balanced bucket that had been planted overhead. The tin bucket spilled, and its contents fell all over Morro, soaking his hair, jacket, and the rest of him.

"The fuck?!" Morro cursed. The bucket fell off the tree and landed on his head, which just put the icing on the cake. "What the hell is this?!"

"Gasoline," Aliara said casually.

"It's _what?!"_

"Gasoline," the black-haired girl repeated, grinning like the devil. "And you know how flammable gasoline is..."

Morro's cat-like green eyes widened and he stepped back, putting some space between them. "I've seen your flame trick," he snarled, his eyes cold and hard. "I'm not letting you catch me."

Her smile widened. "I don't have to," she said with a grin, holding her hands out in front of her, mimicking the action of shooting a gun.

Morro straightened up, temporarily confused.

Surrounding her hands with nen so that she wouldn't damage them, Aliara concentrated and in a blast of heat, a solid gun appeared in her hands. She could feel the heat of it through her nen protection. Without hesitating, Aliara squeezed the trigger, firing off a bullet made of pure flame, and extinguished the gun immediately after to make sure she wouldn't hurt her hands. She turned away.

Morro's screams died after eighteen seconds.

Aliara rummaged through her binder, trying to find the card that would bring her back to Gon. "Ow," she complained, feeling a twinge in her neck. She raised her hand up to it and brought it down. Her fingers were sticky with blood.

"Shit, shit, shit!" she cursed, groping around at the side of her neck. He'd nicked her after all- and she knew first hand that cuts like these could easily get worse. She'd bleed out quickly, too. Without a second thought, she tore off a piece of the sleeve of her black hoodie and pressed it to the side of her neck. She'd get Killua to look at it when she got back.

Wait. She'd...

Aliara threw her free hand up to her head and ran her fingers through her hair, which had fallen out of its elastic earlier. Instead of following through her hair until ending at her waist, her hair ended maybe a bit below her shoulder.

"I cut my hair," she said in disbelief, almost laughing. There were a million other things she could've done- stabbed him, sliced off his wrist, or _something-_ yet she had cut her own hair instead. "I cut it," Aliara repeated.

She hadn't cut her hair in years. It had gotten so long...

The dark-haired girl turned back to the tree where she had balanced her bucket of gasoline and saw at least a foot of hair laying in the grass, soaked in gasoline. Wow, she really had cut it.

She wondered if it looked nice.

Shrugging, Aliara pushed her hair out of her eyes and picked out her card. "Use Return," she called, "to Gon."

She'd have to ask Killua and find out.

* * *

 **I actually took this weekend off of work and I spent a while working on this. Originally it was going to be about 2,000 words but I took my time and added more. I really needed that break- I rewrote parts of this chapter a couple times over but I'm satisfied now, which is nice- I haven't been overly satisfied with my last chapters.**

 **I will** ** _not_ reply to all reviews, but I _will_ answer a few questions:**

 **Will I add in another character with Knuckle and Shoot for Aliara to fight? I've actually thought about this one for a while, because I dislike adding in specific OCs just so my character will have someone to fight (...it took a lot of self convincing and logic to push me to put someone in for this chapter) and my answer is no. I will not be adding another character. I've got another idea for that... ;)**

 **Will we see more of Kuro and** **Ano? Likely. I've been getting ideas and I think I'll have them make an entrance at some point during the Chimera Ant arc- nothing plot changing or for a long time, but just so Ali can see them again.**

 **(Special thanks to _Oof_ for the well wishes :) )**

 **Thank you all for being so patient with me! This chapter is longer than usual so I hope you guys enjoy! :D**


	64. Pretty

**Chapter** **64: Pretty**

Aliara's stomach flipped over repeatedly as she stumbled to a landing, still holding a part of her sleeve to her neck. She was supposed to meet up with Gon, but at the moment, he was nowhere in sight. She turned in a circle and growled and her hair flipped into her face. She was going to need a new hair elastic, fast.

"Gon-" she started, then Aliara noticed the tunnel in front of her. That was part of their plan- Gon would lure Genthru into a pitfall trap and jump into the tunnel, he'd throw a rock card up and cause it to fall on the bomber. The only place Genthru would be able to go would be in the tunnel, where Gon would wait to pummel him.

As if on cue, the dark-haired boy emerged from the tunnel, dragging an unconscious bomber behind him. The plan had worked.

"Gon," Aliara called out, raising a hand to wave, but her hand immediately fell. "What the hell happened to your hand?!"

Gon's left hand and wrist were no longer there. His skin was charred and blackened all around his forearm, where the arm suddenly ended. Not only that, but one of his eyes was swollen completely shut and the skin around his other wrist had been burnt away.

The dark-haired boy glanced at his missing hand and shrugged. "I lost it." His voice was incredibly raspy and dry. He looked back up. "Did you get a hair cut?"

"That's not important. What do you mean, you _lost_ it?!"

"He grabbed me and used his bomb technique. I had to sacrifice my hand so I could get a good hit on him."

"You..." Aliara trailed off. He sacrificed his _hand_ so that he could get a successful hit?! How... Aliara could never imagine doing something like that. Especially to her hands. "Let's contact Killua and Bisky and meet up," she said eventually, glancing from Gon's charred wrist to his one undamaged eye. He nodded and pulled out his book, already pulling out the Contact card.

 _"What took you so long?! How was it? Are you hurt?"_ Killua immediately relayed off, sounding relatively unharmed.

Aliara rolled her eyes. "Nice to hear from you, too."

 _"Ali? You're back too? Are you okay?"_

"Yeah," she called back, glancing at Gon. The boy glared at her but she continued. "Gon's hurt bad, though. He's lost his left hand, his throat is injured, and his eye is all swollen. He'll try to tell you he's fine but he should really be seen to."

 _"Gon?! You-"_

Smirking at Aliara, Gon leaned towards his book. "Aliara got a hair cut and she sliced the side of her neck open. She should get help too-"

"Gon!" Aliara hissed, swatting at him.

 _"It's not a competition, idiots!"_ Bisky shouted, and Aliara could practically feel her condescending glare. _"But thank you both for pointing out each other's injuries, because you stubborn idiots would never tell us yourselves. We're all fine on this end."_

 _"Wait, Ali, did Gon just say you got a haircut?"_ Killua asked.

Aliara swallowed and shot a glare at Gon before replying. "The guy I was fighting grabbed the end of my ponytail and my first instinct was to cut either his hand off or my hair, and it ended up being my hair."

 _"How short is it?"_

 _"Is this really the time?!"_ Bisky hollered over her end of their connection. _"Now hurry up and get over here, we'll heal you two idiots."_

Gon ended the contact and Aliara rolled her eyes, pulling out another hidden Accompany card. "Use Accompany," she called, grinning at Gon. "To Killua." And with a burst of light, they were swept away.

* * *

Gon set Genthru down next to his two henchmen- one of them had his face completely punched in. Bisky had asked about the man who followed her and Aliara had just told the blonde girl that he was dead. Bisky had nodded stiffly, commented that she liked the haircut, and moved over to look at Gon's hands.

Killua had immediately given her a hug when she and Gon touched down on the grass and then set to work on wrapping up the cut on her neck. It didn't take him long at all, and besides the slight dizziness she was feeling, she was fine.

"There," the white-haired boy said firmly, pressing the bandage down. "You should be fine now. Did you use your hands at all?"

"No," Aliara said swiftly, but Killua saw right through her and cocked an eyebrow. "Okay, fine, I did once but it was a golden opportunity."

Killua glared at her for a half second as she smiled sheepishly at him and then he sighed. "What'd you do?"

"Uppercut to the jaw."

He frowned and narrowed his eyebrows. "I should probably be scolding you, but was it a good shot?"

"Yes!"

"Idiot. Good job, never do it again."

Aliara grinned and ruffled his hair, causing him to protest and jab her in the side. Swatting at him, Aliara laughed and started making her way over to Bisky and Gon, Killua right behind her. Bisky was using one of the cards- Archangel's Breath or something like that- and completely healed Gon, from his eye to his hands to his throat. They used a second card on one of Genthru's minions (upon his request).

"So you cut your hair," Killua said softly, glancing at her.

Aliara almost jumped, but she turned to him and nodded. "Yeah. It's still long enough to throw up in a hair elastic, but I still need to go grab my backpack. I have a bunch of extra elastics in there."

"Here," Bisky said, handing Aliara a pair of cards. The black-haired girl held them up and realized they were both Accompany cards. "Go get your backpack, meet us back here."

"Accompany?" Aliara repeated.

"So Killua can go with you," Bisky replied, smirking. "Assuming he was already planning on it."

Aliara whipped around and saw Killua with his hands tucked behind his back, whistling innocently. She rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Bisky." She turned to Killua, smirking at him and holding up a card. "Ready to go?"

Another flash of light later, and they were landing in the old desert clearing that they had trained in and prepared their trap in for the last three weeks. Killua spun in a circle, "Looks all the same to me."

"Over there," Aliara said with a laugh, pointing to an overhang of rock. "It's hidden over there somewhere."

Killua shrugged and rolled his eyes, trotting after the inventor as she moved slightly to the left of the overhang. Aliara checked her wristband carefully before tapping one of the buttons, and jumping. Killua's eyes widened as she jumped straight up and neatly plucked her backpack out of one of the crevices in the rock at the apex of her jump. "Impressive," he called as she landed, turning off the springs again.

"Thanks," Aliara said sheepishly, grinning. "I noticed the gap in the rocks up there and decided to see if I could reach it with my springs, and it worked out." She unzipped her backpack and rummaged through, finally pulling out a small bag with a dozen or so hair elastics inside. "Aha! I did pack them. Great."

She brought her hands up to her short hair and started gathering it up when Killua murmured, "Wait."

Aliara paused. "What?"

He tapped her hands and she let go, her black hair falling and brushing her shoulders. "I never told you," the white-haired ex-assassin said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, "but it looks nice."

"It does?"

He nodded. "It suits you."

Aliara beamed, her cheeks tinging light red. "Thanks, Killua. It's kind of choppy, though, so if we get a chance I'm going to touch it up."

Killua grabbed her hands gently and kissed her softly on the forehead. "Ready to go back?"

"Not really," she admitted. Killua rolled his eyes and pulled her towards him in a hug. Aliara buried her head into his shoulder, grateful that he was slightly taller than her, and felt Killua's hands wrap around her waist. She sighed softly. "I kind of just want to freeze time."

"And just stay here forever?" he said quietly, his voice close enough to her ear to give her goosebumps.

"Yeah."

"I wouldn't mind," Killua said softly. There was a short silence that followed before he added, "but I'd miss Gon occasionally."

Aliara almost laughed. "Yeah, me too. Maybe even Bisky."

"Mmhmm," Killua mumbled, and she could almost feel him rolling his eyes. They kind of just stayed there for a while, clinging on to each other like they might not get a chance for days. With their rambunctious schedule, Aliara honestly had no clue.

The silence that followed was comfortable, and Aliara held onto Killua like a lifeline. It was just so... so warm and comforting. She never wanted to leave.

"Hey, Killua?" she mumbled. He hummed in response. "Do you actually think my hair looks nice, or are you just saying it because you have to?"

He pulled away from her, still keeping his hands on her hips. Killua bit his lip, frowning at her. "You seriously think I'd say it just because I felt obligated to?"

"No," she replied, before she paused and looked up at him sheepishly. "Okay, maybe. I don't know."

Killua sighed and rolled his eyes before he brought a hand up to her face, slightly brushing her cheek before combing her bangs back behind her ear. "Honestly. One hundred percent. I promise you that I love your haircut and it really suits you, you look really pretty."

Aliara relaxed. Maybe it was paranoia, maybe it was a girl thing, but hearing Killua say it made her feel a lot better. She flushed, beaming. Then she smirked and said, "you think I'm pretty?"

Now Killua's cheeks went red, and one of his hands flew to the back of his head and the other found its way to his pocket. "W- Well, I thought it was a given."

"Eh?" she said with a startled cough.

"Well, you know," he said awkwardly, studying the ground, "I, uh, thought, well..."

Aliara nearly squealed and had to prevent herself from burying her face in her hands. "Well, what?" she said coyly, cocking her head.

Killua glared at her. "Oh, I hate you."

"No, you don't."

"No, I don't," he agreed, sighing. "Well, uh, I think you're pretty. Like, really pretty. I just thought that you knew what I thought and-"

Aliara's face burned red and now she was grinning like an idiot. She leaned forwards and hugged Killua, pinning his arms by his sides. "It's always nice to hear it," she murmured, "even if you think I know it."

Killua huffed, hugging her back before breaking away, his face furiously red. "I can't deal with you, you're such a pain."

"I'm your favourite pain, though," she joked, laughing.

He smirked, "should we-"

 _"Attention all players!"_ A robotic voice cut Killua off. It didn't seem to have a source, but instead came from just about everywhere. _"As of today, there have finally appeared players who have collected 99 cards in their imposed slots. To commemorate this event, in ten minutes there will be a trivia game open to all players on Greed Island."_

"We should get back," Killua cut in, and Aliara pulled out her Accompany card, nodding.

The voice continued on, talking about how there would be 100 questions and the winner would receive the final prize- A Ruler's Blessing, card number 0. "Wait," Aliara called, tossing Killua the card. She pulled out her hair elastic and whipped her hair up, pulling into a messy ponytail that sat high on her head. She grinned at Killua. "Okay, let's go."

In another burst of light (any more of these, and Aliara thought she might puke) the pair returned to Gon and Bisky in the grassy clearing from the beginning of the game. Genthru and the other two still lay in the grass, completely wrapped up.

"About time, lovebirds," Bisky called, holding up a pair of cards in her hand. "Come here, we can heal you."

Two Archangel's Breaths later, Killua's hands were completely healed and Aliara's neck and hands were fine. She was busy peeling off the bandages that Killua had tied around her neck when she noticed a comet of white light coming at them. "Incoming," she called, throwing the rest of the bandages to the ground.

"Some over here, too," Bisky yelled, pointing at two more white lights coming at them from the sky.

"More over here!" Killua put in as three more came in from a different direction.

They were being surrounded. It must've been six or seven light bursts, but after the lights and dust cleared, there were maybe twenty something people gathered around. Aliara growled, slipping her gloves on. Did they have to fight?"

"Relax, we're not looking for a fight," one of the taller men said, holding up his hands. "We just want to see the last card."

"If we win it, we'll sell it to you," another one added.

Aliara's eyebrows rose. So they just wanted to make some money or watch the end. Fine, she could live with that- as long as they didn't get too close. She pulled out her book and sat down next to Gon and Killua. "So, are we doing this seperately?"

"Of course," Gon said, nodding.

"Loser has to be punished," Killua added, grinning at Gon.

Aliara almost protested- and she really should've, because she knew little to nothing about half the things in this game. But her competitive nature shone through, and she laughed. "You're on."

 _"The questioning will now begin!"_

Long story short: Aliara did indeed know just about nothing.

 _"I will announce the name of the person who got the highest score. The highest score was 87 out of 100 points. The name of the player who achieved this is contestant Gon!"_

"You won!" Aliara and Killua cried in unison, grabbing the boy in a bear hug. He seemed more surprised than everyone else.

 _No,_ we _won._

 _But mostly Gon._

Everyone crowded around, congratulating Gon, and a tiny bird flew overhead to drop a small envelope in Gon's hand. His winning card. Killua grumbled something about not being able to know how much points they got but Aliara just laughed. They got set to travel to the designated city when yet another comet of light headed towards them, landing a few feet away.

It was a tall, lanky man with a fur vest and a short, fat man with a huge nose and crooked fangs. "Wow, you brats really did it," one of them cackled, his voice deep and raspy. "Let's fight, two on four. Unfortunately, you're not allowed to refuse-"

"Nope," Aliara cut in, shoving her hands in her pockets.

The two men looked at her, puzzled. Killua just rolled his eyes and went back to helping Gon find out how to get to this new city. "What do you mean, no?" the shorter man growled. "You're not allowed to refuse. We'll just take the cards."

"No," she repeated, lacing her fingers and cracking her knuckles. "I've dealt with enough bullshit and fighting in the last hour, and I refuse to have to put up with you."

"You don't get a choice," the taller one snarled. "We'll take them by force. You're just kids."

"Nope," Aliara said again, cocking her head. "But if you insist on fighting, I'll handle you just fine."

Apparently the stout man had had enough, because he lunged at her and she jumped, landing on his head and pounding his face into the dirt. The tall one kicked at her head but she dodged easily and slipped towards him, punching him twice in the stomach. When he doubled over, she twisted and hooked his arm over her shoulder and yanked him over her shoulder in a judo throw.

The tall man landed on top of the shorter one. They were both knocked out.

Aliara brushed off her hands as if she had just done a simple chore like taking out the trash before she trotted over to rejoin Gon, enjoying the fearful stares from the contestants that had hung around.

They won.

They actually won.

You know what? She wasn't even surprised.

With this crazy crew, she could do anything.

* * *

 **Thank you so so much for all the love! The reviews are making me so happy, and the follower count is killing me XD In a good way! All in a good way! I promise!  
**

 **Thank you so much! Remember to take care of yourself! :D**


	65. Kite

**Chapter** **65: Kite**

"So, remind me again why we're just... _waiting_ here?"

Killua sighed. "Because Gon's gone in to get his prize for completing the game. We have to wait for him to come out."

Aliara huffed. "So give me one good reason why I can't try and scale the palace."

Bisky whacked her lightly in the back of the head. "Because we're waiting for Gon, idiot!"

"Whatever," she grumbled, rolling her eyes. The dark-haired boy had been gone a while, and call her impatient, but Aliara just wanted to get moving. Eventually (maybe after fifteen to twenty minutes of waiting) Gon finally came out of the castle doors and came down the steps, holding a case in his hands. "Finally!" Aliara muttered, grinning.

Gon beamed and held up the case. "We get to pick three cards from the game to bring to life."

"Sweet, what're you picking?" Aliara said eagerly, inspecting the case and the metal. It seemed legitimate, sure.

"We," the dark-haired boy corrected. "And we still have to get through festivities."

Aliara paused. "...What?"

"And a parade."

"There's a parade?!"

"And a party."

"Oh, there is _no way_ I am going to a party."

"C'mon, Ali, it'll be fun!"

"No, it won't!"

* * *

It was.

The parade was a bit much, and kind of embarrassing. But Aliara could only blush and stammer out thank yous when people came up to congratulate them. Bisky was loving the attention (at the party, she even went up and sang) and Killua seemed more dumbfounded and confused than anything. The smile never left Gon's face; he was loving every minute of this.

When the festivities were over (after what felt like forever) they all sat down together in their own private room and opened the case that would hold the cards. "They told me that after picking three cards I should go to the harbor," Gon explained, staring at the case. "How are we going to pick what three?"

"You guys can all choose one," Aliara said with a shrug.

"Hey," Killua protested, "I was just going to say that!"

She shot him a pointed glare. "I spent the least amount of time in the game, you guys totally deserve it-"

"But still-"

"Blue Planet!" Bisky interrupted, her eyes shining. "I can't wait to see what it looks like in real life."

Gon nodded and clicked the card into the case, then looked back at his book. "I was thinking about choosing this one."

His three friends all peeked over his shoulder at the card he was pointing at. "Why that one?" Aliara said, frowning. Then, after thinking for a second, it finally dawned on her. "Oh. Ooooh..."

"But you have so much to choose from!" Bisky protested.

"Amazing choice," Killua agreed. "But alone is no good."

Aliara nodded. "We've got to take this one too."

"Are you both okay with that?" Killua and Aliara looked at each other and nodded. "Great! Let's-"

"Oi, let me into the conversation!" Bisky screeched, punching all three of them in turn.

When they finally stopped laughing, Gon left to head for the harbor and exchange the cards. Killua explained their plan to Bisky, who acknowledged it as a good plan but reprimanded them for not letting her in on the conversation. When Killua mumbled, "Well, maybe if you were paying attention-" Bisky punched him again.

Gon returned, stumbling to a stop, and then summoned his book. "Here's your card, Bisky," he said, handing her Blue Planet. The blonde girl squealed like a child and twirled around with her tiny gem clutched in her fingers, immediately naming it 'Blue-chan'. It was a pretty gem, Aliara realized, and it reminded her of Killua's eyes. Gon pulled out a second card and yelled, "Gain!"

The Crusader's Necklace materialized in his hands. Gon slipped it on, smiling at it, then pulled out the third card- One Yard of Coastline. The necklace shone for a brief second before changing into its true form- Accompany.

"It worked!" the three of them chorused in unison.

Aliara grinned, shaking her head. It had been a crazy plan. They'd used Transform to change Accompany into One Yard of Coastline, because they were only allowed to take cards from the imposed slots. The Crusader's Necklace removed their transformation, and behold- Accompany.

"We're going to find Ging," Gon said cheerfully.

"I'm glad it worked," Aliara added.

Bisky smiled softly. "What's the first thing you're going to do when you see him?"

There was no hesitation in Gon's answer. "Introduce Killua and Aliara to him, of course! And say, 'these are my best friends!'"

Aliara tried to speak but her tongue got caught in her throat. She couldn't believe Gon's straightforwardness sometimes, and her heart swelled. "That's embarrassing," Killua mumbled, blushing.

"Are you going to come with us, Bisky?" Gon asked.

Bisky shook her head, wiping happy tears from her eyes. "If I follow you guys around any longer, I'm going to feel like a mom."

Aliara leaned forward and gave Bisky a huge hug before pulling back. "You're the best mom I've ever had, then."

Bisky sputtered, and the waterworks started. Aliara laughed, tears pricking the corners of her own eyes, and hugged Bisky tight enough to bust a rib. Gon and Killua came up from behind them and wrapped them in a huge hug, where they stayed for a few moments before backing off.

"We'll see you around," Killua said with a wave, as a red-eyed Bisky waved back at them timidly.

Gon raised the card high above his head, and in a flash of white light (hopefully, for the last time... Aliara's stomach had never felt so crazy) they were gone.

* * *

Aliara stumbled to a landing, cursing herself for never being able to get the hang of the Accompany business, and surveyed her surroundings. It was a large clearing surrounded by a river, with gentle petals from the tree fluttering down all around them. The only figure in sight was a person wrapped up in blankets, fishing on a rock by one of the trees.

"This is beautiful," she murmured, plucking a petal from Killua's hair.

He smiled softly at her, reaching over to remove two petals from the top of her head. "So are you."

She blushed, beaming, and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Dork."

"Ging?" Gon called.

The figure turned around. "Is that Gon?"

Aliara held her breath. Was this Gon's father?

...The family resemblance was _horrible,_ then.

This man had the longest hair she'd ever seen, falling way past his waist. It was pale grey. His eyes were blank and Aliara was already getting chills. He had a large blue hat pulled over his head and when he turned to look at them, his expression changed from a frown to an expression of curiosity. "Gon. What are you doing here?"

"Kite?" Gon asked in confusion.

"Kite," Aliara repeated, frowning.

In no time at all, this strange man that Gon seemed to recognize whipped up a campfire and they all got seated around it. "You've grown up," Kite mused, poking at the fire. "Who're your friends here?"

Gon waved his hand at them. "This is Killua and Aliara. They're my best friends."

Aliara stared at Kite but made no move to said hi or anything like that. She glared at his hair. How did he have such long hair and not get it tangled? It looked well kept. And he seemed relatively powerful, and for any type of work, hair got in the way.

"...tell me about your adventures?" the white-haired man was saying, and Gon immediately perked up.

"Hold it," she interjected, frowning.

All three of them turned to gaze at her. Killua already had a knowing expression on his face (c'mon, did he seriously think she was going to argue?) and Kite was gazing at her calmly.

"How the hell does your hair look so nice?" Aliara blurted out, regretting it almost immediately but instead choosing to forge on. "I mean, I had hair almost to that length and it was an absolute pain. And it doesn't look like you wear it up at all. Doesn't it get in the way?"

Kite's jaw slipped slightly and he stared at Gon in amusement. The dark-haired boy was sighing dramatically and shaking his head. "You have interesting friends, Gon."

"No, seriously," Aliara insisted.

Believe it or not, this led to a fifteen minute discussion about hair care that Killua watched with wide eyes.

When Aliara was finally satisfied with his answer (he had insisted it was mostly natural, she argued that there was no way), Gon started recounting their adventures, starting from the Hunter's exam that was well over a year ago. Kite informed Gon that unfortunately, Ging had tricked him. Gon was disappointed, but not overly- he was still eager to try and track down his father. They took a walk, and Kite explained his job- collecting and discovering different species in the area. He even offered to show the trio footage he had collected.

Kite was more and more likable the more that Aliara listened to him talk. She had been skeptical at first, but if Gon trusted him, then so should she.

It got worse when Kite mentioned he had a team- and speak of the devil, said team showed up not even five minutes later. There were another six of them, and Aliara wanted to go bury herself in a hole. She didn't like crowds, especially of people she didn't know.

 _Grin and bare it, grin and bare it._ "I'm Spinner Crowe," one of them said, and Aliara had already mentally filed the name away to the list of names she knew she'd forget. "But you can call me Spin."

"Gon Freecss," the dark-haired boy said warmly, moving up to shake her hand.

Spinner, who had been chewing bubblegum, abruptly stopped and stared. "Freecss?" she repeated, her bubble popping.

"Ging's son," Kite confirmed.

The others started laughing and talking to Gon. One was the size of a bear (and looked like one too) and another was as tall as the bear dude but had a huge mop of curly hair on his head. "Are you his son, too?" the man asked, turning to Killua. "And he had a daughter, too?!"

Aliara rolled her eyes as Killua corrected them. "No, I'm Killua Zoldyck. Nice to meet you."

If Bubblegum Girl had still been chewing, she would've popped her bubble again. All of Kite's team stared at Killua with newfound fright and respect. "I apologize if I'm mistaken," one of the smaller ones said, "isn't that the famous assassin family?"

"That's my previous occupation," Killua replied formally, and Aliara almost snorted.

"How about you, missy?" the tall one with all the hair said politely.

One another day, if she was in a different mood, that nickname could've earned him a nice sized slap upside the head. But she could tell he didn't mean it harshly, so she left it. _If they liked Killua's name, they'll get a kick out of mine._ "Aliara Lorvell," she said firmly, staring him straight in the eye. "A pleasure."

"No way," the shortest one (no, wait, the second shortest one) gasped, adjusting his glasses. "Pardon me if I'm rude, but are you a part of the Lorvell family?"

Aliara glanced at him, amused. "Yes."

"Are you the one with the bounty?" the bear man asked.

The black-haired girl frowned and crossed her arms. "That thing hasn't been dropped yet?"

"And you burned down the famous Lorvell mansion," Glasses boy inquired.

"Have they rebuilt it yet?" she asked, and he nodded. She rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"

"They're all professional hunters," Kite cut in.

If they hadn't shocked them enough before, Kite's announcement had certainly dropped a stone on them. All five of them stared at the three children, blank-faced.

Aliara grinned and cocked her head. "Pleasure working with you," she said formally, cracking her knuckles.

But little did she know, disaster was about to strike.

And it was going to take Aliara down as it went.

* * *

 **This is most certainly not my best work. At all. I'm sorry I've been so late, you all deserve better :) Thank you to _xenocanaan, Red Burning Dragon, Oof, At Night We Rise, IamAmazing326,_ and _aguilarpearl777_ for your lovely reviews :)**

 **I hope you're all ready for the trauma and disaster that is going to go down! Not next chapter, but probably the one after ;)**

 **And then? _It gets so much worse mwahaha_**

 **:))**


	66. Bugs

**Chapter** **66: Bugs**

Aliara had never liked bugs.

They were annoying, pesky little creatures that served no real purpose and just crawled around. Mosquitoes annoyed her; flies were bothersome; centipedes were extremely fucking creepy; earwigs and cockroaches were nasty little fuckers; bees and wasps freaked her out. Spiders were okay, actually, and tarantulas were pretty cool.

But ants? Aliara had never liked ants.

And now that these ants were six feet tall? She liked them even less.

They had gone with Kite's buddies to a lab where someone apparently found a rather large insect part that they couldn't identify. Kite's team were experts in this sort of thing so they headed over. Gon, Killua, and herself didn't really have anything better to do (and for them, it was kind of interesting... god, she _detested_ bugs) so they tagged along, and it turned out the insect limb was absurdly huge. When they set it on the ground, the fingertips came up to her hips- and the claws on it were as long as her hands.

"This," Aliara had decided, "is the worst thing. Ever."

Killua and Gon had rolled their eyes at her.

Obviously, no concern was given to Aliara's major dislike of the foul species, and Kite's team chose to head to the area where the limb was found.

Aliara would have much rather spent a year with her mother in a closed off room with one meal a day.

Of course, her opinion wasn't valid. Kite and his team rolled their eyes at her and Killua spent the entire trip over to the area where the limb was found trying to put a halt to her endless stream of complaints.

"I don't like bugs," she snapped, crossing her arms.

"You've said that a thousand times," Killua said with a sigh.

"Nor do I like bugs that are taller than me," Aliara added, eyebrows rising on her forehead. "They are supposed to be tiny! _Why are these bugs not tiny?!_ And most importantly, _why are we searching for it?!"_

"It's not that hard to be taller than you," Gon pointed out.

The black-haired girl spun on Gon with enough ferocity to make the tiny girl from Kite's team flinch. "Just because you're _one measly inch_ taller than me-"

"Ali," Killua warmed, grabbing her hands and holding tight. "You need to calm down."

"I _am_ calm!" she hissed through her teeth, trying to control her volume.

"We're searching for it because it could be a new species," Killua said slowly, rubbing his thumbs in slow circles on her palms, which was oddly calming. "And that's what Kite's group does. Identifies new species. And we're tagging along because..." he looked to Gon.

The boy understood and nodded vigorously. "Yes! We're tagging along because Kite's work is really interesting and he can help us get stronger."

"But it's _bugs-"_

"That's my girl," Killua muttered, rolling his eyes. "Tough as nails but hates ants."

Aliara flushed and glared at him, but almost immediately wilted when she saw the look in his eyes. "I'm sorry," she grumbled, clenching his hands. "I've been complaining a lot, and it's all for a stupid reason. I'll try to... put a hold on the complaints."

"About time," someone from the front seat of the van grumbled. "If you had complained any longer, I was going to toss you out the van."

"Okay now _fight me, you-"_

"Ali! Hold it!"

* * *

They got to the beach where the ant arm thingy had been discovered and they split up to start searching for the body. Aliara stuck with Killua and Gon the entire time, swallowing her nerves down. This situation all felt wrong, like it wasn't as simple as just identifying a new species. After finding no trace of anything connected to the mystery ant arm, the team regrouped at the beach.

"There's nothing-" the bubble-gum girl started to say.

Kite's phone rang and cut her off. The white-haired man picked up the phone and pressed it to his ear. "It's me." There was a pause. "Chimera Ant?"

Aliara's arms erupted in goosebumps. She didn't like the sound of that.

"What's a Chimera Ant?" Killua wondered, turning to the tall guy with the puffy hair.

The guy laughed, smirking at Aliara. "This may not be your cup of tea, missy."

"I'll manage," she snapped, already feeling sick.

"It's a type of ant," the man continued, waving his hands in odd gestures as he spoke. "It's ranked first under insects to be avoided. It's gluttonous, and its strange habits and food selection lead to dangerous offspring. Whatever it eats ends up passing its genes onto the ant's offspring. And, to top it off, it consumes prey several times its own weight in a single day."

Aliara's head started swimming. "I hate bugs," she grumbled, folding her arms across her chest.

"How big are they?" Gon mused.

"Around ten centimeters long."

"That's impossible," the dark-haired girl said shakily. "That arm-"

"The ant was probably around two meters tall," Killua supplied, glancing at her meaningfully. "It can probably eat people."

Aliara shivered. Was he _trying_ to freak her out?! No... he was just trying to prepare her.

They went back to the van, then back to the lab. The bubble-gum girl (was her name Spin or something?) started looking up a map to try and figure out where the ant could've come from, and they ended up concluding that it most likely came from an area called the NGL, a place that shunned modern technology.

Aliara hated it already.

Nevertheless, that was where they decided to go. Aliara had already made the internal decision to leave her bag behind- with her earrings, gloves, and shoes. It was difficult but she knew she was strong without them. On the way there, Aliara dialed a number that she didn't think she'd need as much as she did.

She held the phone to her ear and it rang three times before someone picked up. _"Hello?"_ someone answered groggily.

Aliara grinned. "Hey, Kuro."

 _"Brat?"_

"You bet."

She could hear him grinning over the phone. _"Good to hear that you're still alive. What'd you want?"_

She pouted. "What, I can't even call to check up on you?"

 _"Yeah, right."_

"Okay, fine, you got me. You know the stuff I made? Like my shoes and my gloves and the earrings and the sunglasses-"

 _"Yes, I know of your multiple inventions, you crazy idiot. What about them?"_

Aliara paused before she asked, "can you come pick them up for me?"

There was a period of silence before Kuro slowly said, _"come again?"_

"We're headed to the NGL," Aliara explained, casting a sideways glance at Killua, who raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "And they shun modern technology. You know I hate parting with my stuff, but I don't think I'm allowed to bring it where we're going."

 _"So you trust me with it?"_

"Yep. It was a tough decision."

The van bumped along the dirt road and Aliara almost lost hold of her phone, but she caught it and held it to her ear again. _"Ha, you're funny. Unfortunately, I'm on a completely different continent."_

"What?!" Aliara hissed, ignoring the strange look she got from the driver. "You can't be serious."

 _"Yeah, sorry. What if I sent Ano? I think he might be somewhere near you."_

"Is he?" Aliara squeaked, beaming. "I would've called him but I didn't think he had a phone."

Kuro sighed, _"yeah, he got one after you left to go back to the game. Congrats, by the way, I heard of your win."_

"Thanks!"

 _"Yeah, I'll call Ano and let him know. If he can't, I'll figure something out."_

Aliara sighed with relief, relaxing her death grip on her phone. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

 _"You owe me one."_

"Yeah, whatever. I'll call you later!"

 _"See ya, Ali."_

Kuro hung up and Aliara grinned at her phone like an idiot. She really did have some of the best siblings in the world (and some of the worst ones, too) and there was no one else she'd rather trust her stuff to.

"Was that your brother?" Killua asked as she jammed her phone in her backpack.

She nodded. "Yup, he's going to come get my stuff- or, at least, Ano is. I don't feel safe not having it and I don't think they'll let me bring it in."

"Smart," Gon added, smiling. Her theory did hold true when they reached the border and were told to remove anything with metal in it- including belts and glasses or anything like that. They also had to change into new clothes, and Aliara went with a faded white long-sleeved shirt and baggy navy blue pants. The lady seemed a bit suspicious of her hair elastic- c'mon, lady, it's a _hair elastic-_ but Aliara got through all their constrictive metal tests.

She left her backpack with the tiny smart boy who had large glasses. He couldn't see without them, so he was staying behind. "Here," she had said softly, "I have a brother coming to pick this up because I can't bring it in with me. Can you make sure he gets it?"

He nodded, accepting the backpack. "How will I know who?"

"There's a phone in my bag, you can call him, his name's Kuro. Him or a kid named Ano will be picking it up. To verify you can just ask him what accident I got in when I was five."

"Okay," he confirmed, pushing his glasses up. "What accident did you get in when you were five?"

"He shoved me out a window," Aliara said bluntly, smirking at him before she turned back and ran over to Gon and Killua. "We good to go?"

"Just waiting for you," Gon said.

"Let's get going," Kite hummed, hopping up onto one of the horses. Aliara followed suit, wobbling a bit but righting herself as soon as the horse started to canter. Killua hopped onto the back of Gon's horse, standing upright as the horse sped up.

Aliara rolled her eyes. "Show off."

Killua pouted at her and stuck out his tongue.

They were going at a decent speed with their guide when Kite finally slowed to a stop, hopping off his horse. "Miss, we're in a bit of a hurry, so we'll go on ahead," the long-haired man informed her.

"The horses should be able to keep up with a bit more speed," their guide agreed.

"Still too slow," Kite said firmly, gesturing to the three of them. The guide tilted her head in confusion, but Aliara had already gotten off her horse and joined Killua in stretching. "If you can't keep up, I'm leaving you behind."

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Killua agreed, lacing his fingers and pushing his palms skyward.

"Don't get so cocky," Aliara scolded, cracking her knuckles.

"All set," Gon chimed, stretching out his legs.

Without a word of warning, Kite was off like a shot, and the trio was bolting after him and successfully keeping pace. Their sprint was evidently much faster than the horses' running. Aliara felt the breeze whip her bangs around and was glad for the long-sleeved shirt that kept the wind from chilling her arms. In no time at all the had reached a small village, completely clear of any inhabitants.

Aliara kicked a fallen log out of the way. "What happened here?"

"Ants," Kite grumbled, and Aliara felt shivers up her spine.

Gon's nose twitched. "I smell something." The boy wandered off in the direction of whatever he smelled, Kite and Killua hot on his heels and Aliara trailing a bit further behind. Something was bothering her...

There.

She heard something.

She swiveled her head to the left and didn't see anything, or hear any other noises- just trees and leaves fluttering in the wind. Frowning, she narrowed her eyes, her movements completely halted.

There it was again. Fainter this time.

"Ali?" Gon called softly, turning to face her. Kite and Killua were still moving, but Killua had glanced over his shoulder.

"I'm going to check something out," she announced quietly. "I'll be back."

"Don't go far," Killua murmured, his eyes providing much more meaning to his words.

Aliara smiled at him and nodded before starting to stalk through the woods, moving silently and swiftly. The grass was crunching too much under her feet, so she leaped up to the trees and started navigating through the tree branches, jumping and ducking as she moved with surprising speed.

 _Snap._

There it was again. Closer.

The black-haired girl frowned, knowing she shouldn't get too much further from the boys-

There.

Aliara's blood went cold and she froze. It was a huge creature, skulking through the words with surprising swiftness. It was at least six or seven feet, with large yellow eyes that bugged out of its head and tiny black pupils. It's entire body was covered in a thick, green, spiny armor and it clutched a gun in one set of claws. It had hair, which was odd- a long, thick mane of scarlet hair.

This was a Chimera Ant, no doubt. Aliara stiffened up and tried to control her breathing. _This is the biggest fucking ant I've ever seen. And, the creepiest._

The creature sniffed the air and Aliara shrunk back, nervous that she might be exposed, but the spiny thing turned and took off in the other direction.

Pure curiosity drove Aliara to follow it, stalking him silently from the trees. Thoughts of Gon, Killua, and Kite had completely slipped her mind. The ant was fast, but she was faster, and she kept pace with him easily. _Maybe he'll lead me to their nest. ...Not that I really want to go there, but Kite would probably want to know._

* * *

"Where's Ali?" Killua asked, watching the flying Chimera Ant carry the creepy rabbit man away. He'd forgotten about her temporarily for the purpose of defeating the creepiest and strangest thing he'd ever seen, but it'd been a few minutes and she hadn't come back.

"She's fine, Killua," Gon said with a surprising amount of confidence. "She's probably kicking something's ass or on her way back now."

Killua nodded slowly, trying to share Gon's faith. He looked over his shoulder worriedly.

"I stand by what I said," Kite said quietly, and his eyes betrayed nothing. "If she can't keep up, we'll have to leave her behind."

"She's keeping up," the white-haired boy snapped. "She's two steps ahead!"

"Then let's catch up to her, shall we?" Kite pointed out, raising his eyebrows. "Should she get lost, she knows our rendezvous is the border."

Killua scowled but sped up to keep up with Kite. He had plenty of faith in Aliara: he knew she was strong, fast, and wickedly smart. So why was he so worried?

* * *

The creature stopped, and Aliara almost ran face-first into a tree trunk.

She halted herself just in time (and silently) and hovered on the tree branch maybe ten meters away from the Chimera Ant. He had paused abruptly, and now his ears were perked, like he was listening for something. Thinking it was her, Aliara held her breath.

But then she heard it. Footsteps, loud and fast, coming towards them.

Aliara narrowed her eyes through the tree and made out the shape of a girl with long teal hair and a large hat, dashing at full speed in a direction just past them. _She looks familiar..._ Aliara racked the deepest parts of her brain but came out with nothing. This girl was familiar, but for the life of her she couldn't figure out how.

The Hunter exam.

That was where she knew her from.

Did that mean she could count this teal-haired girl as an ally?

Aliara had to make the decision fast, because the Chimera Ant was holding up his gun and starting to take aim. Why did she care? Why did it matter? She didn't know the girl... Oh, damn it.

Cursing herself multiple times over, Aliara dove at the Chimera Ant.

She leaped at his gun and closed her hand around it, jerking it to the side as he fired. "Hey!" the creature hissed, already pulling his arm back, but Aliara gripped the claw holding the gun like a vice and twisted it, sending the Chimera Ant flipping to the ground. She sliced at his wrist; it was hard as iron. Shaking her hand and cursing, Aliara cut off his finger-like claws instead, taking the gun.

"What the hell?!" the creature snarled, dark green blood oozing from where his hand had been.

Aliara didn't hesitate. She held up the gun and fired one, two, three times- twice at the chest and once at the head. The ant whipped sideways, and the bullet intended for his head whistled by; the two that struck his chest were ineffective. She fired again and again, trying to keep him occupied as she did a quick check on the girl behind her.

The teal-haired girl had stopped, panting like she had just run a marathon, glancing at Aliara with wonder in her eyes.

"Get out of here!" Aliara snapped, turning back to her target and firing twice more. "Go!"

She fired again.

Nothing happened.

She was out of bullets.

"Shit!" Aliara cursed, and she threw the gun at the Chimera Ant. The ant hissed and snatched it out of the air with his free hand, bending the metal in his claws and snarling.

 _Okay, so he's strong._ Aliara swallowed.

"You look tasty," the creature hissed, advancing on her like she was a mouse and he was the cat. Aliara took an involuntary step back and propelled herself to the side as he lunged, the claws on his free hand ripping at the air. She twisted and kicked, hammering her foot into his side, but it did just about nothing. He slashed at her face and she jumped back, flipping.

"Nasty little bitch," the creature snarled.

"I wonder how easily you burn," Aliara mused, holding her hands out in front of her.

In record time, the flaming gun appeared in her hand and she fired four times. The flames didn't catch on his armor, but the tips of his hair singed and started burning. He swatted the burns out angrily and advanced.

 _Okay. Time to try this out._

Aliara shut her eyes briefly and concentrated, and the flaming gun split apart into tiny little bits of fire. They floated through the air like little molecules before rearranging themselves into a long broadsword. The sword's tip was flaming and sparks fell to the ground beneath her feet.

"Cool," she breathed, and wasted no time with swinging in a downwards strike.

The ant dodged skillfully and slashed at her with his good hand, she parried and swung, successfully cutting off his hand-less arm at the shoulder. The creature howled, spitting dark green blood, and recoiled.

Aliara twisted her hands again and the flames reshaped themselves into a gun. She fired again and again and again, trying to keep him at bay. To her surprise, the Chimera Ant shrunk down, hissing. Almost like he was giving up.

The flaming gun vanished in her hands. The tips of her sleeves were singed, but she didn't mind. Breathing hard, Aliara clenched her fists, waiting for his next move.

"Hungry..."

"What did you say?" the dark-haired girl whispered slowly.

He looked up at her, his large yellow eyeballs twitching. "Hungry," he grunted, swinging his head, and before Aliara could even think he had lunged at the bushes behind him. The teal-haired girl rolled away as he landed, his one working arm scraping at the dirt. The girl shoved herself backwards with her hands, trying to get away, fear clearly evident in her eyes.

"You didn't run?!" Aliara snapped, rearranging her flames to a sword once again. Her concentration was wacky and her energy was close to spent; the flaming sword sputtered in her hands and died. She cursed.

"I couldn't just leave you!" the girl retorted.

And then everything just seemed to happen in slow motion.

The teal-haired girl had turned her head to look at Aliara, almost glaring at her, and the ant chose that moment to strike. His right arm was completely gone, so he was leading with his left, his claws extended at the girl's face.

The teal-haired girl's eyes widened in horror as the ant swung-

 _"Move!"_ Aliara lunged out instinctively and shoved the girl aside. Her right hand, which she had used to shove her 'ally', stung for a second as the ant collided with her. His spiny armor pierced her clothes and her skin and she coughed, kicking up and shoving the ant off of her.

Something fell to the ground with a thud.

Aliara's head swam. She felt light-headed and kind of dizzy, all of a sudden. She tried to refocus her vision, trying to focus on whatever had hit the ground.

It was a hand.

A human hand.

The girl- was the girl okay?

Oh.

Trembling, Aliara held up her right arm, noticing that it was bleeding a lot more than it should.

That was _her_ hand.

The ant had cut off her hand.

* * *

 **Oof, basically my reaction to the Chimera Ants XD**

 **Okay, so the little bit I've been planning for a while was actually moved up to this chapter because I decided why not. Don't worry, I've still got plenty more where that came from ;)**

 **Yes, her hand is gone. Like, severed-at-the-wrist gone. And if you haven't guessed, the teal-haired girl that Aliara gets roped up with is Ponzu. I'd been wondering how to incorporate Aliara into this arc and didn't want her to just 'tag along for the ride' if you know what I mean. There's got to be some individualism in here somewhere, so I changed it up a bit.**

 **Many thanks to _YourHomeGirlJen, Oof, soumilplays03, xenocanaan, RedBurningDragon, pupstarstar,_ and _Yozora531_ for your lovely comments, thank you :)**

 **I hope to hear from you guys! :)**


	67. Shock

**Chapter** **67: Shock**

Aliara stumbled and fell to one knee, completely captivated by the bleeding stump that was her wrist, the material of her shirt absorbing the scarlet liquid as slipped down her arm like a waterfall. She heard distant cackling that was probably the Chimera Ant, but everything sounded fuzzy in her head.

She couldn't think. The gears in her brain weren't working. Aliara's breathing was getting too fast, and she couldn't control herself or her pulse- her breathing was haywire. She was shivering, but she wasn't cold.

Aliara slumped, falling onto her knees, cradling her right arm in her lap. She didn't feel any pain, really- just numbness. She struggled to flex the muscles in her hand, but obviously, it wasn't working.

She couldn't breathe.

 _She couldn't breathe._

"Hey! _Hey!_ Come on!"

Aliara didn't even look up. If she had, she might've noticed the teal-haired girl kicking the Chimera Ant away. "Come on, I can't beat him without you!" the girl was saying, but her words fell on deaf ears.

The black-haired girl stared from her wrist to her hand, which was laying five feet away in a puddle of blood.

"Please!" she heard someone call. "Please, I need you!"

 _Do you?_

Aliara's vision was blurring. Tears? Probably, but she couldn't feel them. Oh, yes, she was crying- tiny tears droplets mingled with the blood on her arm and her lap.

The white shirt really wasn't a good idea.

Something kicked her; Aliara tumbled backwards, weak and panicked. She fell onto her back with a thud, trying to comprehend the world around her with no success. She felt so dizzy... Would it be better just to fall asleep? Maybe it'd be less painful.

Ah, that's funny. The pain was starting to kick in.

A dark shadow that she couldn't make out loomed over her. Aliara's brain tried its best to make sense of the situation, tried to get her instincts to kick in, but she had no success. She saw the shadow rear back then fall forward, something extended at her face.

Her fatigue was what saved her.

Aliara had been trying to sit up, but after realizing her body couldn't handle it, had slumped back. She fell back against the grass as the Chimera Ant's claw scratched at the air where her head had just been.

 _"Come on!_ Please!"

Someone was touching her.

Aliara blinked rapidly as she suddenly felt warm. Whoever was touching her radiated heat. That was when Aliara realized how cold she actually was, shivering and shaking beyond belief. Lips moved, but no sound came out.

"...I can't... I need!..."

She'd lost her hand.

How could she build anything without it? Her hands were her treasure, her prized possession.

 _What was the point?_

 _You don't need me._

The warmth suddenly was ripped away and Aliara felt cold again. Had her blurry vision been able to focus, she would've seen the Chimera Ant backhanding the teal-haired across the clearing until she hit her head against a tree and slumped down.

"Die." The creature loomed over her again, his only functioning arm already reared back for the finishing blow. She wouldn't be getting away this time.

Aliara closed her eyes.

She welcomed this.

 _What was the point?_

There was no point.

There was... no...

 _Killua._

Tears sparked her eyes once again.

 _I have to get back to Killua. And Gon._

 _I have to see them._

Aliara screamed. A bloodcurdling, heart-wrenching scream.

She was going to go back to Killua and Gon.

She was going to go back to them.

Her body erupted in heat, which stung her cool skin. Aliara screamed again, her arms rising up in front of her. She was wrapped in some sort of soft blanket- a really hot blanket. The blanket seemed to swirl around her and propel itself at the hulking creature, and the creature started screeching. Not that she could actually hear it.

Flames had enveloped her body, surrounding her like that blanket she had imagined. Aliara didn't even know what was going on, just that she was scared and she really wanted to see Killua and she didn't want to die and-

She was scared.

Aliara couldn't remember the last time that she had ever been scared.

The flames glowed bright red and then tinted blue, almost- a sign that they were extremely hot. Aliara couldn't feel the heat, but the Chimera Ant could. With a final, deathly scream, Aliara threw her arms out in front of her, and the flames completely enveloped her enemy. Flames that she couldn't feel.

And then they were gone, just like that.

Aliara blinked rapidly, her breathing still quite rapid and shallow, and she swung her head frantically around the clearing. The ant was fried to a crisp, completely indistinguishable. The grass around her was now ash, and a clear path where the Chimera Ant was and behind was burnt away.

Had she done this?

She couldn't take it anymore.

Aliara's eyes rolled back into her head and she passed out.

* * *

"Oh, good. You're awake?"

Aliara blinked wearily, then tried to sit up.

"No, you're fine. Lay down."

She didn't protest, flopping on her back and gasping for air. Her heart hurt, like she wasn't getting enough oxygen.

"That's it. Breathe. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Take it easy."

Aliara had never been good at listening, but for the sake of her own survival, she tried her best to regulate her breathing and her pulse. She inhaled as slowly as she could and huffed, letting the air escape her mouth. She shut her eyes again, stars blinking across the blackness of her eyelids.

"Okay. Are you good to sit up?"

The black-haired girl tried to speak, but her throat was incredibly dry. Instead, she nodded. An arm eased under her back and helped pull her to a seated position as she opened her eyes and took in her surroundings.

Still in the burnt clearing.

A charred Chimera Ant body still in front of her.

Aliara almost wished she could forget everything that just happened. _Everything._ She almost wished she could go back to that moment in the tree, where she complemented jumping at the unsuspecting Chimera Ant.

But the weird thing was that she didn't regret it. Losing the hand, yes, but saving the girl, no.

Shit- Her hand-

Aliara glanced down, praying that it had all been a really bad nightmare. No such luck. Her hand was still absent from its usual spot, and instead was replaced by large amounts of cloth wrapped around her wrist and the end of her stump. The colour looked oddly familiar...

She glanced up at the teal-haired girl, who was sitting in front of her patiently. The sleeves of her shirt had been ripped off.

"Th... Thank you," she rasped, blinking.

The girl managed a weary smile. "I didn't want you bleeding out on me, especially not after you saved my life. I'm Ponzu, by the way."

"Aliara."

"I know."

"H... Hunter exam?"

"Yep. Failed the last two years, but next year will be different." The optimism in her voice seemed kind of... forced.

There was an awkward pause, until Aliara jerked her chin at the ant. "Dead?"

"Yes," Ponzu said firmly, nodding. "I checked."

"My... My hand?"

Now the teal-haired girl paused, swallowing. "Well... Uh, when the ant clawed at your face and you dodged-" (Aliara seemed to had a fuzzy memory of falling backwards due to tiredness) "-I hit the ant away and he tumbled over and... and to your hand. And..."

Ponzu paused and her face went slightly green. "I guess he was crazed by hunger or whatever, because he saw your hand, and..."

Aliara didn't need the rest. She shook her head. "Oh."

"But that distraction allowed me to get back to you," Ponzu added. "And I thought he was going to try and eat me but he seemed to be so caught up with you that he just tossed me aside. I hit my head, and when I woke up, the Chimera Ant was a lump of charcoal and you looked like you were dead."

She nodded slowly, trying to wrap her brain around the situation. "So... When did you wake up?"

"About twenty minutes ago, give or take," the teal-haired girl replied, shrugging. "But I don't think I was knocked out for very long, or else you would've bled out."

"Thank you," Aliara said again.

Ponzu waved her off. "I should be thanking you. You saved my life. And it's my fault that you lost your hand."

Aliara didn't reply. She flopped back down in what used to be grass, now just a pile of ash. She shut her eyes and took a minute to try breathing deeply again. Ponzu remained silent, and the black-haired girl just listened to the soft whistle of the wind through the trees. It was calming.

Killua.

She bolted upright and Ponzu steadied her. "Killua," she said quickly, turning to Ponzu with wild eyes. "And Gon."

The girl paused. "Do you mean the two boys who you travel with? They came here with you?"

Aliara nodded vigorously, trying to stand up. "Yes! We got separated- well, kind of- but I don't know where there are anymore. But they're with Kite, they'll be okay-"

"There are many of you?" Ponzu repeated, and the dark-haired girl nodded. The teal-haired girl sighed in relief. "We need to find the rest of them as soon as possible. I was here with a few others and one of them got captured. I need to save him."

"Who?"

"Do you remember Pokkle?"

The name struck a dull chord in the back of Aliara's head. "I think so?" she murmured, frowning.

"He got his hunter's license with you," Ponzu pushed.

Aliara nodded, the image filtering into her brain. "Ah. Yes, I remember him."

The older girl (well, at least, she _looked_ older) nodded slowly and helped Aliara to her feet. "We're in no shape to help them now, or try and find your friends. We don't want to run into any more of those things. We're lucky that one of those things hasn't found us yet, but we should get moving. Do you know where the border is or how far it is?"

"I think... Yeah, it shouldn't be too far. That way." Aliara waved her right arm in the general direction that she had come from and felt sick when she saw her heavily-wrapped wrist. She lowered her arm back to her side. "Let's go."

"Whoa. There's no way you're walking yet, do you know how much blood you've lost?" Ponzu crouched. "Here, hop on my back. I'm stronger than I look, I can carry you."

Aliara's pride forced her to start protesting, but Ponzu insisted, and it was only after Aliara clung onto Ponzu's back that she realized how tired she actually was. Ponzu broke into a light jog, murmuring something under her breath, and Aliara could do nothing but pass out again.

* * *

When she woke up, it was dark, Ponzu was still carrying her.

She couldn't have been out more than an hour... right? The teal-haired girl looked exhausted, so Aliara slid off her back. "I can walk. You look really tired."

"Oh, thanks," Ponzu replied, rubbing her arms. "But still, you've lost a lot of blood."

"I'll be fine," Aliara said with a shake of her head. "Do you want me to carry you?"

The teal-haired girl blinked dumbly at the black-haired ex-assassin.

"I can carry you," the inventor insisted, clicking her tongue. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen," Ponzu replied slowly.

"See? You're young and light. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Aliara nodded. Ponzu was only a few inches taller than her and seemed to be a similar body type, so she wouldn't have that much trouble. The girl jumped, landing on Aliara's back, and the black-haired girl hooked her arms behind the girl's knees.

She looked to her right arm, saw the bandaged stump, and looked away again. "You comfy?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"No problem. I think we're almost there, anyways."

Aliara started jogging, surprised by how fatigued her body still was. She didn't need her hands to carry Ponzu piggy-back style, but the lack of her right hand still bothered her immensely. She was just so... so used to it being there. And it suddenly wasn't.

She felt sick. _How am I supposed to build anything if I don't have my hand?_

Creating and inventing things... that was her life. Her escape back at home.

"I'll get I'll have to learn how to be a lefty," she muttered under her breath, flexing the fingers in her left hand. She half expected Ponzu to say something, but judging by the girl's breathing, she was asleep.

 _My hand..._

Something fell down Aliara's cheek and she realized she was crying. Growling, Aliara picked up the pace, trying to transform her sadness into anger and her frustration into power. _Almost there, almost there._

 _What if Killua is..._

She shook her head immediately. There was no way Killua or Gon would die; they were way too strong for that. They were also with Kite, and he was incredibly strong- she could tell just by looking at him. He would be okay. They both would be okay.

When would she see them again?

Aliara exhaled and tried to shut off her thoughts completely- they weren't helping her concentrate. Instead, she focused on her footfalls on the grass and stared up at the glowing moon as it lit up her path. She heard something to her right and immediately broke into a sprint- she couldn't afford to try and check out what it was. Breathing hard, Aliara tried to keep up her pace, doing so for about another seven minutes before she fell back into a light jog. She was weak.

So she focused on her footsteps in the grass and nothing else.

She must've been moving for about another hour and a half before the forest opened up to reveal a wide plain. The long stretch of trees continued on left and right, as far as she could see, but ahead of her was the border- the signature large two trees that had all the security checks and such were standing tall and proud maybe two hundred meters away.

Ponzu tapped her lightly on the back. "I can walk the rest. Thank you."

Aliara carefully lowered her to the ground and they both started walking, tired and very ready to take a much needed nap. Aliara glanced down at her injury again and noticed spots of dark blood seeping through Ponzu's makeshift bandage. "We'll get medical attention as soon as we can," Ponzu assured her, staring hard at the two trees in the distance.

She could only nod wearily and do her best not to collapse. One foot in front of the other.

It felt like forever, but they finally reached the border line. There were two tall men outside, regarding them with concern. "Are you all right?" one of them asked, glancing at the two girls warily.

"She's covered in blood," the other man snapped, turning to the one who spoke first. "Obviously not."

Was she really? Aliara looked down and realized that her long sleeved shirt was almost entirely dyed scarlet. Long stains covered her pants, and the blood had dried on her remaining hand. She wondered what her face looking like.

"She needs medical attention," Ponzu said, pushing a hand lightly on Aliara's back. "Please." Aliara was too tired to add anything.

"What- Oh god." The man's eyes landed on Aliara's wrist and he immediately turned and bolted inside. The other man made his way over to them and started to ask questions, like what happened and who was out there, but Ponzu refused to answer anything until Aliara's wrist was seen to.

A first aid kit and two nurses later, Aliara's wrist had been bandaged up again and checked for any sign of infection. It was a clean cut, but Aliara couldn't even look at her wrist without gagging. They gave her a change of clothes and had scrubbed her arms and face, removing the dried blood. They gave her a shirt identical to her old one, though, so it was white. Aliara just sighed and went along with it.

It was nearly morning when they finished up, feeding her different pain killers and checking Ponzu over for any other injuries. "I'm going to go inside and report what happened," Ponzu said quietly, tapping her shoulder lightly. "You rest out here and stay on the lookout for your friends."

Aliara was more than happy to oblige. "I need a phone," she insisted.

One of the men handed her one, a small black flip phone. "As long as you don't bring it in the border," he warned her, and Aliara nodded, slumping against the tree and staring out at the forest line. Nothing.

She shakily picked up the phone in her left hand and dialed the number she had committed to heart with her thumb. She waited, holding the phone to her ear. No one picked up. She tried a second time. Again, nothing.

"Oh, come on," she grumbled, desperate, and she dialed one last time.

 _"Hello?"_

Aliara could've sobbed in relief. He'd picked up. "Oh my god. Kuro."

 _"You? Ali, do you know what time it is?"_

She would've said something, but tears started rolling down her cheeks again and she had to press her wrist over her mouth to stifle her sob. "Kuro," she tried, but her voice broke and she couldn't continue.

 _"Ali? Aliara? Are you okay?"_

"No," she choked out, wiping her cheeks. "No, I'm not."

 _"Hey, where are you?"_ Kuro quipped, sounding considerably more alert than he was a few seconds ago. _"I'm on my way to the NGL. I called Ano but I didn't get a reply, so I was on my way over."_

"Ano didn't pick up?" Aliara whispered, breathless.

There was a pause. _"I bet he's fine. I know what village he was staying in. We'll go find him."_ Kuro paused again, waiting for her to say something. _"What happened?"_

Aliara exhaled slowly, wiping her cheeks again as more tears filled her eyes. "I was... I was out with Gon and Killua... And then... then we got separated. And..." She inhaled shakily, trying to calm herself down.

Kuro didn't say anything, so she tried to continue. "We got separated. And... And I was tracking one of... one of the ant things. And... And there was a girl. And she was running. And... And the ant went to kill her... And... And I stopped him. And we fought."

 _"Okay,"_ her brother replied over the phone. _"Then what?"_

She sighed shakily, the tears becoming annoying. "It cut off my hand."

Silence.

 _"It did what?!"_

Aliara couldn't help it- she sobbed, pulling her knees up to her chest. "It cut off my hand, Kuro."

 _"Are you serious? Did you get help? Well, I assume so, because you're using a phone, which means you're not in the NGL anymore. Did you?"_

She nodded until she realized he couldn't see her and choked out, "yes."

 _"Look, Ali, I'll be there soon, okay?"_ He muttered something that Aliara didn't quite catch, and then he spoke directly to her again. _"Phone me again in twelve hours. Make sure you get some sleep. Okay? I promise you I'll be there soon."_

"Okay."

 _"You're gonna be fine."_

"Okay."

 _"I'll see you soon, Ali."_

And then he hung up, and Aliara tossed the phone into the grass, furiously wiping at the tears on her cheeks with the back of her hand- her left hand, obviously. Pathetic.

Completely, totally, pathetic.

Aliara leaned her head back against the tree trunk, her glistening emerald eyes staring up at the sky. The sun was rising, turning the sky into a bunch of pretty shades of orange and yellow that Aliara didn't care for. Maybe she would've, but not right now.

She sniffled, wiping at her eyes for what felt like the umpteenth time and focusing on the treeline. No sign of Gon, Killua, or Kite. But they'd all show up, she knew they would. They would come looking for her and know that their rendezvous was the border.

 _Killua would still like me if I only had one hand, right?_

The black-haired girl shook her head immediately, glaring at the ground. That was a stupid thought. There was no way Killua was that shallow.

 _But that entire display... I was weak. Weak and pathetic._

Aliara buried her face in her arms, and buried the thoughts to the back of her head. It wasn't going to do any good to dwell on what just happened. She stared at the stump that used to be her hand, at the white bandage that had been wrapped around the end of her wrist over and over again. She nearly gagged and looked away. How long would it be until she was able to stomach looking at it?

She looked up and narrowed her eyes.

There was a small speck in front of the treeline, advancing towards her and the border. It looked bigger than either Killua or Gon were- maybe it was Kite? It was definitely moving slower than their normal speed- were they injured? Aliara never once looked down, staring at the figure in the distance as it got closer, until she could identify it.

It was Killua.

With Gon on his back.

Panic rose in Aliara's heart and she immediately tried to push herself to her feet. She temporarily forgot that she didn't have a second hand and stumbled, falling back on her right side as she attempted to use her hands to push herself up. _Is he dead? No, please say he's not dead-_

Aliara stumbled forwards as Killua neared, and she noticed that he was sweating heavily and breathing hard. How long had he been running with Gon on his back?

"Is he-" she said immediately as he was in earshot.

"Unconscious," Killua called out, panting, and relief washed over her. The white-haired boy (you know, in this light, his hair almost looked silver) was still a dozen meters from her but he picked up the pace and made it over to her in a flash.

He set Gon down carefully in the grass and immediately turned back to Aliara, pulling her in for the tightest hug she'd ever had. "What happened to you?" he murmured, his voice muffled by her hair as he tucked his head into her shoulder.

Aliara almost started crying- again. She wrapped her arms around Killua and squeezed her eyes shut tight. They rocked back and forth, unwilling to separate, and Aliara didn't even mind how sweaty he was. She was just glad he was alive, and that he was here, and that they were together.

"You're alive," she heard him whisper, and her heart nearly cracked. "You're alive."

Tears sparked in her eyes and she blinked them back, trying to figure out how she was going to break the news. She wasn't ready to let go of him.

Killua gently started to pull back and she did the same, tucking her hands (well, _hand_ ) behind her back. He left his hands on her shoulders, and sapphire met emerald as he looked at her, tears welling up in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

Wordlessly, Aliara summoned what was left of her courage and pulled her right arm out from behind her back.

"What..." she watched Killua trail off as his eyes traveled from her face to her shoulder to her arm and then to her wrist. She watched those brilliant sapphire eyes widen and she watched his hands reach down to her wrist, only to pull back before he touched her.

"Your hand," he said slowly. "Chimera Ant?"

Aliara bit her lip and nodded.

And then the floodgates opened and Aliara started sobbing, sinking to her knees and settling her right wrist in her lap. Her tears fell freely, hitting her shirt, pants, and the heavy white bandage. Killua was next to her immediately, gathering her in his arms and holding onto her like he'd never let go. Aliara buried herself into his chest and cried, trying to forget what had happened, but there was no way she could. She never would.

Killua said nothing as she cried.

He didn't need to.

He held her until her crying slowed, until it was just sniffles, and then walked her over to where the large tree was and sat her down in front of it, sitting himself down next to her and pulling her against him.

"Please don't go," she murmured.

"I won't," he promised.

And that was how they stayed for the next ten minutes until Aliara passed out for a third time in the last twenty four hours.

* * *

 **Wow, what a long chapter! That first bit was actually really difficult to do. Aliara was hyperventilating and was very close to having a panic attack, to the point where she had almost given up, which was hard to write and even harder to put my character through. Man, Aliara's become more complex than I ever would've dreamed of.**

 **Would you look at that? She has emotions! Wow, Morel and the others are going to have a hard time not viewing her as a child now. This'll be interesting...**

 **Thanks to _Night Owl, KilluaKagura, Awesomeness3013, kitsunelover300, Zazg, RedBurningDragon, xenocanaan, Guest, Ploy, bunnyxstar, Caraa,_ and _CHET_ for your lovely feedback! I'm so glad you all enjoyed!**

 **Caraa: Thank you! I've been trying so hard to make this at least a little bit original and I'm so happy you think I'm doing so. Thank you!**

 **Guest: Yeah, I'm a fan of OC stories so I've read a couple and I've noticed the 'no lasting damage just about ever' trend in a few of them XD So I'm trying to be different! Thank you!**

 **kitsunelover300: The shock part was hard to write. I was trying to balance the fact that this would be a natural reaction with her instincts, and I'm generally pretty satisfied with how it turned out. Thanks for your tips!**

 **Thank you all so much! I hope to hear from you again!**


	68. Shopping

**Chapter** **68: Shopping**

Aliara faded in and out of consciousness without realizing.

She never stirred, but she managed to gather her senses together and listen intently to her surroundings. She hadn't been moved; the sound of a light breeze was still shifting through the air and she could still feel the grass underneath her on her bare ankles. She tried to crack an eye open, only to see Killua crouched down a few feet away from her with his back to her.

Her side suddenly felt cold. Didn't he say he wouldn't leave?

The black-haired girl noticed that he wasn't wearing a shirt and his back was soaked in sweat. He must've been exhausted after carrying Gon all that way... from wherever they were. Now that she thought about it, where was Kite?

"I'm going to kill them," she heard, and Aliara's eyes fluttered shut when she realized she was too exhausted to try and stay conscious. "I'm going to kill them all."

With Killua's oath playing on repeat in her head, Aliara fell asleep.

* * *

She woke up- for real, this time- in a soft white bed, covered lightly by a sheet.

The setting wasn't familiar at all, and Aliara bolted upright, eyes searching the room wildly for anything familiar. Where was she?

"Ali! Calm down, you're okay."

The black-haired girl sighed and relaxed, turning to Killua. He was sitting in a chair next to her bed, and behind him was a second bed, where Gon was sleeping. He grabbed her left hand with both of his hands hesitantly. "How are you feeling?"

Aliara swallowed down the sick taste in her throat as she gaze warily at her right wrist. "Fine."

Killua huffed. "Really?"

The inventor sighed, biting her lip. "...No."

They sat in silence for a while. Killua rubbed slow circles on the back of her hand with his thumbs, staring idly from her hand to Gon's peaceful face.

"So..." Aliara said, nearly coughing, "What happened?"

Killua's expression clouded, and he had to pause before he answer. "After we got separated, we encountered a Chimera Ant. It looked like a deformed rabbit of some sort, it was crazy. Gon and I fought it but our attacks did almost nothing. It escaped with the help of one of its comrades. We got surrounded by a Chimera Ant squad, but we defeated them- well, Kite did."

The white-haired boy swallowed and Aliara just studied his face, listening. "And then we got deeper into the Ant's nest, and we went through these tunnels and had to fight these three ants. We all came out on top, got out of the tunnels..." he paused, frowning. "We were going through the forest when this Chimera Ant came at us. From a huge tower over half a mile away, it just flew at us, and it was going to kill us...

"But Kite pushed us out of the way," Killua finished shakily, and Aliara held her breath. "He lost his arm. The Ant's aura was the worst thing I've ever seen. Gon was about to attack it, but... but we would've lost, and I couldn't let Gon die, so I knocked him out and ran. I abandoned Kite. He's dead."

Aliara couldn't seem to find the right words to say. "It's not your fault," she settled on, her words bland and almost meaningless.

Killua's gaze was suddenly piercing. "Yes, it was. It's my fault he's dead."

"No..." she tried to say, but her words were falling on deaf ears. Aliara didn't have the confidence to try and speak out to him anymore. Either way, she had to try. "You saved Gon," Aliara concluded, trying to meet Killua's eyes.

"And I killed Kite," Killua snapped, his grip on her hand suddenly very tight. "Maybe we could've figured something out. Maybe if I hadn't been so ignorant, I would've noticed before. It doesn't matter that I saved Gon- he'll never forgive me for leaving Kite out there."

"He will," Aliara said quietly. "He will."

"No, he won't," Killua argued pessimistically, his face downcast and angry. "I failed him. I failed _you._ I don't deserve-"

"Killua," Aliara said heavily, glaring at him. "Stop."

On another occasion, she may have tried a different method to keep him quiet- maybe protested by pointing on all the positive things he'd done for her and for Gon, maybe kissed him, maybe reassured him- but she didn't want to deal with this right now. It was selfish of her, obviously. But Aliara was too broken to figure out what to do about it.

The white-haired boy paused, slightly surprised. Aliara wondered how angry she looked right now.

Killua listened to her and didn't say anything, but Aliara knew she'd messed up. The tension in the air was heavy. He let go of her hand, letting it fall limply to the bed, and Aliara felt desperately cold.

He got up and moved to the corner of the room, grabbing something familiar- her backpack. "Nobody ever came to pick it up," he said dryly. "Your phone's been buzzing."

Aliara didn't move, but he set the bag at her side and grabbed the chair, turning it so he was soon sitting next to Gon's bedside, checking for pulse. The black-haired girl felt tears spark in her eyes but she blinked rapidly and shoved them back. She didn't even know what to do anymore.

She rummaged through her bag, pulling out her flip phone, and realized that it was Kuro's number- he'd called four times since she'd last checked in with him. Shakily, she grabbed the phone in her left hand (and had to re-position it because she couldn't type anything) and carefully thumbed in the numbers.

He picked up immediately. _"Aliara. You good?"  
_

"No," she mumbled. "Where are you?"

 _"I was going to ask you the same thing. I'm in the town closest to the NGL border, just because I figured you'd be moved and this is where you'd go."_

Aliara nodded along. "Yeah. I think that's where we are."

 _"You don't know?"_

"I just woke up, give me a break," Aliara grumbled, feeling worse from the tension with Killua than her exhaustion.

 _"Hang on, I'm going to track your phone."_

"I took the tracker out."

 _"You did?"_ There was a pause. _"Of course you did. Why did I even ask?"  
_

Aliara smiled weakly. "I'll put it back in. I kept it."

 _"Okay, perfect. I'll be there soon."_

The black-haired girl nodded slowly, pressing the button on her phone to end the call. Using her good hand (well, her _only_ hand) Aliara rummaged through her bag and eventually managed to pull out her screwdriver kit, selecting the smallest one and setting to work on her phone, opening up the back for it and finding the empty slot.

It was amazing how such a small thing like fixing something could distract her so well. Sure, the time it took to actually complete the process reminded her continuously of her hand, but she wasn't going to let it stop her. Carefully, Aliara popped her silver-studded earring out, almost losing the backing to it, and fumbled with it in her hand. This was difficult.

After plenty of positioning and careful movements, Aliara twisted the silver gem off of the earring with a pop. The tracker was still inside, flashing red. Aliara tipped the earring over the slot in her phone and the tiny red flashing device fell into its chamber. Aliara pushed it in carefully with the end of her screwdriver until she heard a click.

 _Got it._

It was such a small task but Aliara felt a huge sense of accomplishment. She had managed to do that with one hand. She couldn't help but smile softly at her phone as she pushed the case over it once more, glancing up at the clock.

Ouch. That had taken her six minutes.

With her right hand, she'd have been able to do it in one- and that's if she was taking her time. Aliara sighed softly, turning her phone on to stare at the plain blue lock screen for a second, until she shut it off again.

Killua hadn't moved. He was still sitting with his back to her, watching Gon as the boy slept peacefully. Aliara's heart crumbled just a little bit, and she was considering saying something when someone knocked on the door.

The white-haired boy stiffened, turning to the door and tensing up.

"It's probably my brother," Aliara explained softly, easing herself off the bed carefully.

"You don't know for sure," Killua demanded, stalking over to the door and opening it slowly.

The black-haired girl could've cried when she saw Kuro standing in the doorway, his black hair disheveled and messy, his eyes slightly panicked. His typical smirk that he wore almost every minute that she saw him was present, and the smirk only widened when he saw her at the edge of her bed.

"Hey, brat," Kuro said with a sad grin, sliding into the room and slipping past Killua in order to grab his younger sister in a hug. Aliara pulled her good arm around his chest, squeezing hard as she burrowed herself into him, relieved. This was the most affectionate she'd ever been with Kuro, oddly enough.

The black-haired girl pulled back long enough to turn him to face Killua. "Killua, this is Kuro. My older brother."

Aliara didn't really know what she expected would happen when they met, but sadly she wasn't surprised when both of them started sizing each other up and glaring at one another. Kuro's eyes blazed as he glared down at Killua, and even though her brother was a head taller than him, Killua refused to back down, glaring heavily at Kuro.

Aliara kicked her brother in the back of the leg.

He grunted, but he got the message. "I'm Kuro Lorvell," her brother said stiffly, holding out his hand awkwardly.

"Killua Zoldyck," he replied darkly, gripping Kuro's hand like a vice.

The taller one glared down at the shorter one, and Aliara realized that this had quickly turned into a stare-down. She groaned quietly, muttering "morons" under her breath. Maybe she should just separate them both now... No. She wasn't in the mood.

"It's not a competition," she said icily, realizing the boys still hadn't let go of each other's hands.

They both let go, still glaring at each other. Kuro was the first to break away, turning towards Aliara, and Killua went back to Gon's side. "So, you told me what happened over the phone," Kuro reminded her, frowning.

Aliara held up her right wrist wordlessly, swallowing down her nerves. It was still wrapped in clean white bandages, but it was completely obvious that there was no long a hand. The dark-haired adult (wow, he was an adult! That's a scary thought) took her wrist in his hands gingerly. "Huh," he muttered, but the look in his eyes said it all.

She sighed. "I know."

He ran his fingers along the bandage. "So... were you alone?"

She shook her head, "Ponzu. Another girl. She almost died."

Where was Ponzu now? She'd have to try and contact her later.

Kuro hummed, seemingly content, but one look at his eyes and Aliara could see rage. Angry, burning fire that filled his eyes and the struggle to control it. He was going to lash out, Aliara could tell- and half of her was surprised that he felt this angry on her behalf.

"So where were you?" he said coldly, turning to Killua.

The white-haired boy turned around to meet Kuro's gaze, but his sapphire eyes were dead and cold. "Kuro," Aliara warned. "It wasn't-"

"Where were you when she almost died, huh?!" her older brother hissed, his eyes flashing as he turned and let go of Aliara's wrist. "I thought you all were stuck by each other's sides, no matter what. So where the hell were you?!"

Killua shook his head slowly. "I..." he trailed off, hanging his head.

"You-" Kuro started.

He was standing up from his position next to her but Aliara beat him to it, pulling him away and stepping between him and Killua. "It's not his fault," she cried out, her voice cracking. This was the most force and emotion she'd put into her words in the last forty eight hours. "Kuro. It's not his fault."

"Like hell it isn't," her older brother hissed, advancing. "You said you were _safe-"_

"I am," Aliara said firmly, glaring at him. "I am safe."

"Then why'd you lose your hand?" Kuro snarled.

She visibly flinched, almost moving out of the way, but steeled herself and put her arms out to keep some space between the two. "I left the group," she snapped. "It's my fault. No one else's."

"He's right," Killua murmured, and emerald met sapphire as she spun around, eyes wild. "It's my-"

"It's not!" Aliara hissed, stomping her foot. " _I_ left the group. _I_ chose to step in and fight the ant. The _ant_ cut off my hand. It is no one's fault but my own."

She whipped her head back and forth between the two of them. Kuro still looked angry, but Aliara knew he was done his raging, for now. Killua just looked defeated- his shoulders were slumped and he looked incredibly tired.

"Alright?" she said quietly, her emerald eyes losing their wildness and instead looking almost desperate.

Killua nodded slowly, staring at the ground.

Kuro grunted, "Whatever."

Aliara finally lowered her arms, feeling exhausted. "Okay. Good."

"Ali?" she heard, and the black-haired girl spun around to see Gon sitting up in his bed, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Aliara immediately stepped towards him and they hugged briefly, before she pulled away. "What happened?"

She held up her right arm in answer, and Gon's eyes widened when he saw her wrist. "Sorry," she admitted quietly. "I should've stayed-"

"I'm just really happy you're okay," Gon insisted, pulling her in for another hug. "I knew you'd be fine."

Aliara wanted to protest, but instead she just sighed and hugged Gon back. She was way too tired for this.

When she finally let go of Gon and turned around, Killua and Kuro were glaring at each other again. "Cut it out," she sighed, rolling her eyes. They both broke eye contact with a scowl. "So what now?"

"Netero, the president of the Hunter's association, told us if we beat two of his students then we can go back to the NGL," Killua summed up, crossing his arms. "Something like that."

"Two of them?" Gon asked, and Killua nodded. "But there's three of us." Gon paused and finally seemed to notice Kuro. "Who are you?"

Aliara kicked Kuro in the back of the leg again and he glared at her before turning back to Gon. "Kuro. Aliara's brother." He held out his hand. Gon took Kuro's hand in his and shook it, grinning at him.

"Do we gang up on them?" Aliara mused.

Killua swallowed thickly and shook his head. "He said..." he stopped.

 _"The girl seems to be in a bit of a tough spot. What a shame."_

 _"It's not her fault."_

 _"It's not easy to recover from a wound like that. Both physically and mentally."_

 _"She knows that."_

 _"Hmm. I think that you and Gon proving your abilities should be enough. Should you win and defeat Morel's apprentices, she can come with you. Assuming she's passed her own individual test. She can't let this hinder her."_

 _"Test?"_

 _"We'll leave that to one of Knov's students. You and Gon beat Morel's apprentices, and she will be allowed to journey with you provided that Knov's student agrees."_

"It's just me and Gon," Killua concluded, snapping out of his dazed state.

Aliara narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"Just Gon and I are supposed to fight the two of them," Killua explained, rubbing the back of his head. "Ali's supposed to... recover, I guess. Netero said that there'll be someone who will make sure she's passed her test. Whatever that means."

"Test," Aliara repeated. "That's it?"

He nodded.

The black-haired girl turned away, sitting down on her bed. Defeating someone- she could deal with that. But passing a test where she didn't even know the content? She may as well give up.

There was a hand on top of her head. Aliara might've brushed it off, but she really didn't care. "C'mon, kiddo," she heard Kuro say. "You'll be fine."

Aliara nodded, not really believing it.

"You're really quiet," Gon remarked.

She was about to retort that she wasn't, but Aliara knew it wasn't true. She hand't spoken up about anything or tried to protest about anything in the last fifteen minutes. For her, that was quiet. "Nothing to say," she said with a half-hearted shrug.

"I know how to fix that," Kuro announced, patting her on the head and making her scowl. "Let's go. We're going shopping."

Aliara blanked. "We're... what?"

"I thought you didn't like shopping," Killua said, frowning.

"I don't," she agreed. "So, why..."

"Trust me," Kuro insisted, grabbing her left wrist and pulling her to her feet. "Let the two of them go and figure out what they're doing." He looked up from her to Killua and Gon. "I'll have her back before nightfall."

"You better," Killua warned, his hands clenching.

Gon waved brightly. "See ya, Ali!"

Aliara waved good bye halfheartedly, still confused. She was still wearing the clothing she had received from the people at the NGL border, her hair was pulled up but really loose and messy, and she didn't have shoes on. She was a mess.

"Kuro," she said slowly when they got on the streets, "I look like a nightmare."

He chuckled. "You'll feel better after we're done. Come on, I'll buy you a new hoodie."

A little bit of light flashed through Aliara's eyes and she shrugged, but she was a little more optimistic about this shopping trip. "Well, I wouldn't say no."

Kuro kept the conversation light and simple, but Aliara still felt tired as they wandered down the streets. She was stared at plenty of times (with a lovely combination of no shoes, messy hair, and a missing hand, she really stood out) and tried to make herself as small as possible, which didn't really work. Kuro kept his word and bought her a burgundy hoodie that was really really fuzzy and one size too big, which was perfect for tucking her remaining hand inside the sleeves. He got her simple black sandals too, which made Aliara's feet feel really loose and free.

"This is really nice, Kuro," Aliara said as they left the store that sold her sandals, forcing enthusiasm into her voice, "but I don't see how this is supposed to help."

He smirked at her. "Wait til you see where I'm taking you next."

Aliara frowned but followed him through the streets for another five minutes, pleased to see that not as many people were attempting to study her as before. They eventually encountered a... _weird_ display. A man with curly, stuck-up hair was parading through the streets, shouting into a microphone.

"My name is Knuckle Bine!" he hollered, drawing the attention of everyone on the street. "I am a beast hunter! I challenge the replacement team to a battle! Tonight at midnight, we will end this once and for all! I will not bring any friends or weapons, I will not hide! I will wait by myself!"

"Is that one of the people you're going to face?" Kuro mused, tilting his head.

Aliara corrected him quickly, "not me. And probably."

"But he never said where," her older brother said with a smirk, shaking his head. "He's strong, though."

She nodded along. Sure.

"Okay, we're here," Kuro announced finally, halting in front of a large grey building with plenty of windows and plenty of customers. Aliara frowned, staring at the building before wandering in.

"It's a parts shop," she realized, her head swiveling as she tried to take it all in.

Kuro nodded proudly, strolling in after her. "It's one of the biggest in the region, actually. They sell just about anything and everything."

"This is amazing," Aliara breathed, turning from one bucket to another, then venturing to a display case, and then moving to a different stand. "I didn't even know this type of metal existed! And, and these tools- oh my god- is that _really-"_

Her older brother chuckled, obviously amused. "I'm glad you like it."

The large smile on Aliara's face suddenly dipped. "This is incredible," she said softly, turning to Kuro. "But... What would I use it for? I don't really have any inventions planned, I've been a bit busy." Her eyes sparkled as she turned back to the tool stand. "But it feels like if I'm here, I _have_ to buy something..."

Kuro cocked his head, smirking at her. "Really? And here I thought you'd have an idea ready to go."

"I really don't," she confessed, "not since I started turning my nen into weapons."

"Seriously?" Kuro said. "Even with the opportunity that just came up?"

"Opportunity?" Aliara repeated, confused.

Kuro raised his hands in front of his face, wiggling his fingers at her. "You're so dumb."

"Stop it, that's creepy," she complained, glaring at his hands. "That's..."

She trailed off.

Her emerald eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

"That's it," Kuro hummed, grinning at her. "You've got it."

Aliara grinned and lunged at him in a hug, tightening her arms around his chest and squeezing hard enough to break a rib. "You are the _best._ "

"I know," he replied coyly. "Let go before you break me."

"Fine, fine," the black-haired girl mused, already distracted. "Help me pick stuff out. Do you know what I'd be able to do? My god, what kind of devices do they have?!" Kuro laughed and trailed after her as she started picking out different types of metal and attachment gears (he'd never seen someone so picky about what type of material they'd use) and different little things that could add additional functions to her new idea.

She'd already amassed a shopping cart full of items that she wanted (okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration), and Aliara was still going strong. She turned to Kuro and steered him towards a huge display cabinet.

"Here," she declared, "is where they sell pre-made devices. Stuff that I can use without having to make beforehand. Any suggestions?"

Kuro narrowed his eyes at the display case and started reading the labels. "That one's cool," he said, pointing at a shiny black cylinder with several buttons and a large screen on it. The label read 'Projector'.

"Yeah," his younger sister hummed, nodding. "I've read about those. It can link up with a larger device and project 3-D images. Maybe I could..." she trailed off, already thinking. "Would there be a way for me to somehow alter the technology of the projection? Like I could tap the hologram and spin it, or zoom in, or..."

"That's technology far behind your age," Kuro mumbled, shaking his head.

Aliara turned on him in a flash, her eyes sparkling. "Is that a challenge?"

Kuro laughed nervously as his determined little sister turned back to the display case, her eyes scanning through the rest of the devices. Eventually, a large, pot-bellied man came over, adjusting the glasses that were seated on his large nose. "Anything interest you here, missy?"

The black-haired girl jabbed her finger at the glass. "The projector. How much is it?"

"60,000 jennis," he replied.

Aliara's jaw dropped. "You're kidding me."

The man shook his head. "Sorry, missy, but the technology in this thing is really advanced and these are incredibly rare. In fact, we only have-"

"That's all you're charging?" Aliara blurted out. "That's it?"

"60,000 jennis isn't cheap," the man warned, confused.

"I'll take it," she announced, almost jumping up and down. "Please, let me take it."

"If you insist," the man shrugged. "Is that all?"

She nodded vigorously, pulling her large cart into view. "Yep, I can pay for my stuff now."

It wasn't like anything she bought was huge- there was just a lot of tiny things. The man's eyes seemed to turn into dollar signs as he rang everything through his cash register and stammered out the sum. Aliara paid eagerly, gathering all her materials into a grand total of three bags. Kuro hefted all the bags off the store counter.

"Thank you so much for your business," the man said, bowing.

Aliara grinned. "This is an incredible store, thank you."

"Come again," he replied, adjusting his glasses. "If I may ask, what are you using all the materials for?"

The black-haired girl beamed and held up her right arm, letting the sleeve slip down to reveal her stump of a wrist. The man looked slightly confused and a little apologetic, but Aliara didn't really mind.

"I'm building a hand," she said proudly. "I'm building myself a new hand."

And so she and Kuro left the shop and made it to their temporary home in record time, ready to start building right away.

* * *

 **Wow, I definitely had fun with this chapter. I like writing Kuro, he's a lot like Aliara with a few more quirks and smirks. He's so fun.**

 **Many thanks to _xenocanaan, KilluaKagura, Caraa, CHET,_ and _Oof_ for your lovely reviews!~**

 **\- KilluaKagura: I decided to try and use her passion to cope with her trauma. Slowly but surely, she's going to be okay :)**

 **I hope you're all doing well! Thank you all so much! :D**


	69. Sketch

**Chapter** **69** **: Sketch**

Aliara had barely been back to their temporary 'home' for five minutes when there was a knock on the door.

She pouted. The black-haired girl was in the middle of taking over one of the offices in the house in favor of turning it into a workshop; she was making use of the large desks to spread out all of the tools she bought, there were shelves that were good for going through the many different sizes of nails and screws that she had, and there was even a fireplace. She had just opened her bags- there was no way she was going to get the door.

Kuro rolled his eyes. "Get the door."

Aliara turned on him, frowning. "No, you get it."

"You get it."

"No, you get it!"

The door opened, and they both heard it from down the hall. Apparently, whoever it was had very little patience, if any at all. Aliara and Kuro had a glare-off before they both left the office to go hunt down the intruder.

The figure was standing in the middle of the empty living room, hands on her hips, until she saw Aliara and beamed. "Aliara! You're here!"

Aliara's tongue caught in her throat. "B- Bisky?"

"Yep!" the blonde girl said happily, lunging at her in a hug that Aliara quickly returned. "I was told that you three needed some training before your challenge."

"You were told?" Aliara started to say, but Bisky was already moving on.

"Hello! I'm Biscuit Krueger, pro hunter, but you can call me Bisky," the energetic blonde lady trilled as she reached out to shake Kuro's hand. "Who're you?"

Kuro only raised his eyebrows as he shook her hand and replied, "Kuro Lorvell."

"Siblings?" Bisky asked in confirmation, and Aliara nodded. "I can see the resemblance."

Aliara and Kuro glared at each other and hissed. "No way," Aliara said, rolling her eyes.

Bisky might've argued, but the stubborn determination that was clearly visible in Aliara's eyes matched the fiery stubbornness in Kuro's eyes, and she knew that if she kept bringing it up she'd just get more arguing. The blonde girl chose to keep her mouth shut and instead gestured to the door. "Oh, and this is Palm. She's the one who contacted me."

Aliara turned to the doorway and was hit with the weirdest aura she'd ever encountered. There was a hulking figure in the doorway with tangled black hair that fell past her hips. She was scarily thin and pale and kind of slouched when she walked. She was wearing an old pink dress and shuffled her way through the door, her feet dragging along the ground.

"Are you Aliara?" she said, her voice husky and threatening.

"Yeah," she replied, trying to keep herself as calm as she could with this creepy lady. "That's me."

Her glare intensified and Aliara felt goosebumps erupt all over her arms. "You are friends with Killua and Gon." It wasn't a question; it was a statement.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Yes."

Palm seemed to study her for a few minutes before she shuffled off into a different room, and it was only when she passed by that Aliara noticed the silver steak knife clutched in her hand. "The annihilation of Morel's apprentices begins," she mumbled as she shuffled past. The door slammed behind the creepy lady and Aliara shivered.

"She's..."

Bisky laughed. "Exactly. Yeah, she told me that you three are preparing for a fight in thirty days so that you can go to the NGL."

" _They_ are," Aliara corrected, huffing. "I'm not."

"Why not?"

Aliara sighed and held up her right arm, letting the sleeve of her sweater slip down and reveal her stump of a wrist. "This."

To her surprise, Bisky didn't look disgusted or shocked. Her eyes widened and she offered Aliara a soft smile, which said more than her words could explain. "Doesn't mean you can't train!" the blonde girl said cheerily, spinning in a circle. "They'll be home soon, I'm sure."

Aliara's throat tightened. "I'll be in my room," she added, nodding at Bisky. "Let me know when they get here, okay?" She turned around without waiting for an answer and scurried back to the office that she had taken over, surprised to see that Kuro was already there, sorting through nails. "How'd you sneak away?" Aliara said, confused. She didn't remember him leaving.

Kuro raised his eyebrows. "I'm an assassin too, moron."

Aliara rolled her eyes and pulled out the third and final shopping bag, dumping its contents onto the table. "Almost done," she said happily, carefully taking the projector that she had bought and putting it on the third level of the nearby shelf.

Another five minutes was all it took for the two lightning-fast siblings to sort through Aliara's many purchases and organize everything. When they were done, Aliara was surprised with how neat everything looked.

"This'll be ruined in a few hours, won't it," Kuro deadpanned, and Aliara punched him in the shoulder with her left hand. "Oi, stop it. I've seen your room. If it wasn't for the maids-"

"I need to sketch out what I'm doing anyways, idiot," the black-haired girl said, rolling her eyes. "I have a couple ideas but I don't know if I'll have enough space. I need to take measurements and compress things, maybe I could..."

Kuro raised an eyebrow. "It's gonna be like a Swiss Army Hand?"

Aliara stared blankly at Kuro for a second, unable to comprehend exactly where he was going with that statement, until she clued in and Kuro gave her a toothy grin. "You moron! How much longer are you here for, anyways?"

"Dunno," he said with a shrug. "I might set out to go find Ano."

She blinked in surprise, then her heart felt heavy. "He's okay, right?" she asked, frowning.

"Yeah," the black-haired man said easily, shrugging. "He's a Lorvell, after all. We're pretty crafty."

"No, I think that's just us," Aliara argued with a laugh, punching him lightly in the shoulder.

He chuckled and ruffled her hair, causing Aliara to scowl and shove his hand away. "I'll be back in three days. Can I expect the finished product by then?"

"Okay if you give me time to work all day with no interruptions, including for sleep," Aliara said with a snap, smirking at him. "And you put forty eight hours into every day."

"So you think it'd take six days of non-stop work?"

She shrugged. "I don't know yet. Depends if I need more materials. And I also need to sleep and eat every now and then."

"Minor details," Kuro dismissed. "Alright, tell you little boyfriend goodbye for me." Aliara flushed, her cheeks growing hot and she was already making mumbled protests. Her embarrassment only increased when she saw the way Kuro's eyes lit up with realization and a shit-eating grin grew on his face. "No way," he said in disbelief, cackling, "he's actually your boyfriend?"

"No!" she squeaked, her voice an octave higher than usual. "I mean, uh, yes?"

Kuro laughed as she pouted and crossed her arms, still a blushing mess. "I should've threatened him more, then," her older brother mused.

"Just go," Aliara groaned, shaking her head.

Still cackling to himself, Kuro gave her a small wave before he turned and left the room, leaving Aliara to shake her head at the door and try to calm the blush that was occupying her cheeks. Smacking herself lightly, she huffed. Talking with Kuro had helped her, obviously, but Aliara realized how bad she felt and how much she needed to talk to Killua.

Aliara had just grabbed her sketchbook and a pencil when Bisky yelled, "Aliara! They're back!" and the black-haired girl almost smacked her head off the wall at the impeccable timing. Of _course_ it had to be now.

Refusing to let go of her sketchbook, Aliara trotted out into the main room, where she saw Bisky punching Gon. Aliara rolled her eyes- so the hot-tempered blonde girl hadn't changed. Gon mumbled begrudgingly, rubbing his head, and Killua just sighed and jammed his hands in his pockets. The black-haired girl noticed what he was wearing for the first time- a long-sleeved plaid shirt, left unbuttoned, pulled over a white shirt with dark pants. He looked good.

Aliara felt her cheeks heat up for the second time in the last two minutes and forced the heat to leave her face. Killua and Gon were talking with Bisky, most likely discussing their upcoming fight. Killua took off his plaid shirt and threw it to the side, leaving himself in just a white tank top.

"You come here too, Ali," Bisky called, beckoning her over.

Killua and Gon both looked over, apparently noticing her for the first time. "Oh, Ali," Gon mused, cocking his head and smiling. "How're you doing?"

"Fine," she said, setting her sketchbook down for a minute while she slipped off her cozy sweater with a bit of difficulty. Now she was just standing in loose grey sweatpants and a black tank top that had a funky criss-cross pattern in the back that she liked. The shirt was a bit cropped, but Aliara didn't mind too much.

But then she caught Killua staring at her and they both turned away, blushing.

Bisky's eyes sparkled as she glanced back and forth between them, but upon Aliara's glare, she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Okay, let's start. I want to see your ren."

Aliara inhaled slowly, and as she exhaled, pushed all her aura out of her body. It was a pleasant feeling, surrounding her with warmth. She was surprised with how powerful her aura had become and how plentiful it was. She was stronger than she thought.

"Now hold this for three hours," Bisky said firmly.

 _Well, there goes my time for work._

"Oh, come on," Aliara grumbled. "I had stuff to work on." There was no way she'd make it to three hours anyways- she didn't even think she could hold this for an hour.

She was right.

About fifty minutes later, Aliara collapsed from sheer exhaustion and fatigue. She was sweating buckets and the room was spinning around her. Holding her nen for an extended period of time turned out to be physically and mentally tiring.

Gon went down about three minutes after she did, and then Killua struggled to hang on until he couldn't anymore.

The last thought Aliara had before she passed out was that she wished she could be drawing.

* * *

She woke up, half an hour later, completely re-energized, which was physically impossible.

Yawning, Aliara sat up, stretching her arms above her head and accidentally pulling her shirt up slightly. "What time is it?" she mumbled, getting to her feet.

"Early afternoon still," Bisky hummed, flipping to a new page in her magazine. "You ready to try that again?"

"Again?" Aliara repeated, frowning. She looked to the right, where Gon was hopping to his feet and Killua seemed to just be waking up. As much as she hated to admit it, it was a good form of training. But they only had thirty days and Aliara wanted to complete her project before they got to go back to the NGL.

Bisky looked up. "Yes, again. Until you can make it to three hours."

"Can I draw?" the black-haired girl asked quickly.

The blonde lady shrugged, going back to her magazine. "It might make it harder to make it to three hours, but if you want, go ahead."

Beaming, Aliara snatched her sketchbook and pencil off the table. she sat down cross-legged and carefully set her sketchbook down in her lap, open to a blank page. She awkwardly held her pencil in her left hand. It felt unnatural and uncomfortable.

"One, two, three," Aliara chanted under her breath before she activated her nen again and pressed her pencil to paper.

It was considerably more difficult to maintain her ren while drawing out the design for her mechanical hand. On top of that, she had to do it with her _left_ hand, which was not going well. It got considerably easier as she went on, however, and by the time an hour had passed, she had a clear outline and measurements written down.

Then she passed out.

Half an hour later, she repeated the same cycle and was pleased to say that she could get to almost one and a half hours the third time around, despite the constant fiddling with her drawing and editing. Killua and Gon were both making it to almost two hours, but Aliara was a bit preoccupied.

When her nen ran out and she collapsed, she never ended up passing out, to which she took pride in. Bisky manifested her attendant and Aliara fell into a soft sleep, waking up thirty minutes later once again.

"How much longer do we have to do this," Aliara groaned as she sat up after her nap, almost falling backwards as she forgot about her lack of right hand.

Bisky shrugged. "Leave it for today. We'll work on it tomorrow too."

Her eyes lit up. "So we're done for the day?"

The blonde lady nodded. Aliara stood up quickly and bowed in thanks, saying "Thank you!" before she took off back to her room/workshop, setting her design on the table.

She was ready to go.

* * *

Aliara had no idea how much time had passed when there was a gentle knock on the door. She set down the curved metal piece she was working with and turned to the door. "Yeah, come in."

She wasn't surprised when Killua opened the door and glanced around the room, his blue eyes wide. "Wow."

"Kuro took me shopping," she said with a shrug, turning back to the task at hand.

"No kidding," Killua agreed, looking at the workshop space that had since become a huge mess. "Are you ever going to sleep?"

She paused. "Wait, how long has it been?"

"Three hours, give or take," the white-haired boy said with a shrug.

Aliara's jaw dropped. She'd been in here for three hours?!

She realized how tense she was, then looked to Killua and realized that he was being kind of awkward. Crap- she'd forgotten about how tense they'd been this morning. "Look, Killua," she said with a sigh, setting down her screwdriver, "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you this morning, I was just really tired."

Her... what should she call him? Boyfriend? That didn't sound right. Anyways, Killua just sighed and sat down in the armchair in the back of the room. "Thanks," he said, sounding miserable. "It doesn't change what happened, though."

Aliara's heart plummeted in her chest. "What? What did I-"

"Not you," he corrected, shaking his head. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

The black-haired girl paused, trying to think back to earlier that day and what exactly happened. "You, uh..." she cleared her throat. "You still think it's your fault." He shrugged, but that was enough of an answer for her. "Killua," she said with a sigh, deflating. "Come here."

Killua rose up off the chair and almost fell into Aliara's open arms. Aliara exhaled slowly, squeezing him tightly and trying to relax. Killua leaned against her, apparently content for the time being.

Although she would've preferred not to move away from him, Aliara slowly pulled back and rested her hands on Killua's shoulders (well, one hand and her other wrist) as his hands fell limply to his sides. "None of this," she said firmly, "is your fault."

Sapphire met emerald as his head jerked up, his eyes meeting hers. "But-"

"No," Aliara said, cutting him off, "and don't you dare blame yourself. Kite knew what he was doing when he allowed us to come along. He accepted the risks. When he encountered someone much stronger than he anticipated, you did what you could. You saved Gon. Do you think he'd be alive right now if it wasn't for you?"

Killua wasn't interrupting anymore but Aliara forged on anyways. "And you shouldn't blame yourself for what happened to me. I made my own decision."

"I shouldn't have let you go on your own," he said hoarsely.

Aliara's throat dried and she almost lost her train of thought. _No. I won't do this. Not again, not like this morning._ "I made my own decision," she repeated, trying to sound as sure of herself as she could. "In a way, I'm actually kind of happy you let me go on my own. Not because I lost my hand," she hurried when she saw Killua trying to object. "Not because I lost my hand."

She bit her lip. "I'm happy you let me go on my own," she said slowly, trying to put her thoughts into word, "because it showed... because I could see that you trusted me as much as I trust you. You trusted that I was strong enough to handle myself and that I would be okay without you.

"Yes, I would've loved to have you by my side, and yes, I did get in a lot of trouble, but everything worked out. I'm okay. And honestly?" Aliara smiled wryly. "The fact you trusted me to go on my own means a lot to me. Because I know how much you care and I know that isn't easy for you."

She met his eyes again and was surprised to see that Killua was crying. Well, almost- there were tiny tears pricking the corners of his eyes. "Thank you for trusting me," she finished, feeling her own eyes filling with tears. "I don't mind your protectiveness, not at all, but... that amount of trust was..." she swallowed, nodding quickly, tears ready to fall. "That was nice," she said lamely.

Killua pulled her in for a hug again, and then they were both hugging and crying. Aliara tried to keep the tears to a minimum but it was hard when Killua was shaking silently as he clutched onto her, needing her as much as she needed him.

"That means a lot to me," she heard him mumble into her ear, which sparked another wave of tears. "Thank you."

Aliara squeezed her eyes shut in a vain attempt to push the tears back and held onto Killua like he was the only one left in the world.

(And so when Bisky found them in the morning, fast asleep and cuddling together on the armchair in Aliara's workshop, she let them be for another hour. She'd have to ask them later.)

* * *

 **UGH Killua's too adorable HELP**

 **Aw man, I love Kuro and Killua so much ;-; when Kuro steps out, Killua steps in. Aliara's so lucky to have such caring guys in her life. How come my character has better relationships than I do? No fair.**

 **Many thanks to _Keep Calm and Be Ninja, KilluaKagura, xenocanaan, Oof, Caraa,_ and _Eliza211_ for your lovely reviews :) They all made me smile, thank you so much! :) I very much appreciate all of you! :D**

 **Thank you all so much for reading! :)**


	70. Complete

**Chapter** **70: Complete**

Bisky made them do ren training again over the next few days. All three of them barely managed to make it to three hours before they collapsed, drenched in sweat. Aliara was more than ready to take a nap or go back to working on her new project- Bisky had insisted that she focus just on ren for the next three hours so she could make it as far as Gon and Killua would, because she wouldn't have to concentrate on anything.

Aliara was surprised with how well she kept up to Killua and Gon, but she was bored the entire time. Trying to concentrate and hold the nen outside of her body was taxing, yes, but after the first ten minutes it got boring pretty quickly.

"Alright," Bisky announced as they all lay on the floor, completely exhausted. "Time for you to go fight Knuckle."

Aliara's jaw dropped, "eh?!"

"Not you," the blonde girl dismissed, waving her hand at the boys. "They have a lot of time to go fight him. Give it a shot. If you lose, run away, and we'll try again tomorrow."

The black-haired girl, for the first time since they'd arrived at this house, was thankful that she didn't have to go out and fight. Killua and Gon both got up and trudged to the door, evidently tired.

When the door shut behind them, Aliara craned her neck up to look at Bisky, wondering what sort of strenuous and painful tasks Bisky would have set up for her.

"You wanted time to work on your stuff, right?" Bisky asked, jutting her thumb towards Aliara's workshop down the hall. "Go ahead."

Aliara's eyes lit up like stars and her tiredness seemed to melt away. "Thanks, Bisky!" She pushed herself up off the floor and zipped off to her room, shutting the door behind her. Bisky face-palmed. _Of course, now she's suddenly so energetic..._

The next few days passed in the same manor. Aliara was getting plenty of time to work on her hand, but it still wasn't enough time to complete anything. Killua would visit her frequently, bringing her food (sometimes, when she was wrapped up in her project, she forgot to eat) and helping out with some of the little things. Aliara couldn't get everything done with just one functional hand.

In the span of three days, working on and off, she had the rough outline of her mechanical hand. She'd been softening some of the metals she bought by holding them in the fireplace, then bending them into shape. It had taken a lot of welding, which Aliara wasn't particularly good at- especially with her left hand. Killua helped out with some of that stuff, and even Gon did too when he popped down to visit.

Her project was finally shaping up. She had the hand itself done, and all the measurements were accurate. Now she just had to finish it- add all her special features, make it unique. If she kept up the current pace, she'd been done in a few days.

Of course, she'd been working an average of six to eight hours a day on this thing. It was going to be absolutely perfect, and she wouldn't settle for anything less. That was a bit ridiculous. Nothing was perfect- and she'd always want to make adjustments or add new things or something.

Soon, the three hours of ren was much more bearable. Aliara didn't have to concentrate as much for the first two hours, and instead could engage in conversation with Killua and Gon, who pestered her for updates on her project constantly. It was kind of fun, she supposed- chatting with them like they were just teens rather than killers who were trying to train to avenge a fallen comrade.

Ten days had passed since Killua and Gon had gone to fight Knuckle for the first time.

Seven days had passed since she'd created the rough structure of her glove.

One day had passed since she finished it.

Killua and Gon had left once again to go and fight Knuckle. She hadn't mentioned the completed project quite yet because she wanted to make sure it would work. And if she wanted it to work... She'd have to hook it up.

Holding up her phone, she dialed Kuro's number and held it up to her ear. He didn't pick up, so with a sigh, she tossed her phone on the arm chair and started pulling some wires out. If she wanted her hand to actually function properly...

She was going to have to connect it to the nerves in her arm. Hmm.

Would that mean slicing the stump of her arm open? Probably. "Ouch," Aliara grumbled, already imagining it- this was going to hurt. And how was she supposed to do this with one hand?

As if on cue, her phone buzzed. Aliara reached for it and held it up to her ear. "Hello?"

 _"What'd ya want?"_

She beamed. "Hey, moron. When's the next time you can pop by?"

Kuro's voice rang out loud and clear. _"Why, you finished?"_

"Mostly," she admitted. "I need to hook it up, and that's not something I can do with one hand. Killua and Gon are out right now and I have no idea when they'll be back, so I wanted to know if you were close."

 _"Yeah, actually. I was going to drop by yesterday or the day before, but I got lazy."_

Aliara laughed. "How long until you can get here? I spent the last twenty four hours trying to figure out if I can attach it myself, but I can't. And I want to figure out if this works. Soon."

 _"Alrighty, fine. Two minutes."_

"I'm timing you," Aliara joked, hanging up the phone and tossing it back on the couch. Her energy renewed, Aliara made sure that all the materials she was going to need would be available for her and Kuro. She was excited- well, at least, she hoped she'd done well enough with her project so that this would work.

After one minute and fifty eight seconds, Kuro pushed open her door and shoved her lightly from behind. "Perfect timing."

"Almost," she said with a laugh, punching her with her left hand. "Ready to try this out?"

He shrugged, then glanced towards a black box. "Is that the finished product?"

"Yeah," Aliara said with a sigh, her eyebrows narrowing. "I hope it'll work."

"It'll work," Kuro said dismissively, earning a glare and some furious mumbles from his sisters before he reached towards the box and she smacked his hand away. "Oi, what was that for?"

"Not that yet," she scolded. "We have to slice open my arm."

Kuro blanked. "...What?"

"If we want the prosthetic limb to function properly," Aliara repeated, almost robotically, "we need to hook up wires to the remaining muscles in my forearm. That way I can control the prosthetic."

"I have to slice open your arm?!"

"Kinda."

"...How would you 'kind of' slice open someone's arm?!"

Aliara scowled. "We just have to make some incisions in the stump-" she raised her right wrist- "and press these in the cuts." She held up four tiny steel chips in her left palm. All four chips were hooked up to microscopic wires and the wires eventually lead to what looked like a silver cylinder. "I don't have the right precision with my left hand. I marked out where the chips need to go, though."

"So you can mark them out but not do it yourself," Kuro deadpanned.

"It took me a while," she admitted. "You ready?"

After a grueling five and a half minutes, plenty of blood, and plenty of complaints, Aliara and Kuro managed to slip the four tiny chips under Aliara's skin. The black-haired girl held up the silver cylinder that the wires were attached to, and Kuro realized that it was the exact size to fit snug around her wrist.

She pushed the top of it over the flat stump of her wrist and pressed down on something on the side. Kuro watched the device tighten around her wrist. The top of it had two small spokes and a few wires opening, but other than that, nothing at all.

"It looks like an over-sized bottle cap."

"Kuro, shut up!"

Aliara sighed, shaking out her wrist. It stung, and the metal chips that she'd bought and designed made a weird feeling under her skin. She forced a smile and held up her wrist, now capped by a metallic cover. "Thanks, Kuro."

"What's that even supposed to be?" her older brother asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Aliara rolled her eyes. "It's how I'm going to get my hand hooked up. If I want to, I can disconnect it and work on it."

"You really thought of everything, huh," Kuro mused, reaching for the black box. He paused, glancing oddly at Aliara like he expected her to hit him, but when she just rolled her eyes he grabbed the box and opened it up.

It looked so incredibly professional that Kuro had to double check that it hadn't been crafted by a professional. Screw that- his little sister _was_ a professional. The metal had melded together perfectly- the only overlaps that Kuro could notice were at the joints and where Aliara would need to bend her fingers and such. The palm had a small circle carved out of it, and Kuro had no doubt that it was the projector. It was shaped perfectly- so much so that if she put on a glove, you probably wouldn't be able to tell it was a metal hand.

His jaw kind of slipped. His little sister wasn't so little anymore.

"It's not great, I know," Aliara said with a sigh, blushing, "but I can always try to fix it later-"

"Shut up and put it on," Kuro interrupted.

She held up her right wrist and accepted her newest invention in her left hand, carefully settling it on her wrist. Kuro watched her push the base of the hand onto the two spokes that had been popping up from the cap on her wrist. She twisted it, and there was a click.

Aliara paused and stared. Her hand was on.

"Try it," Kuro urged, apparently just as excited as she was.

She swallowed nervously. What if it didn't work?

She shut her eyes and tried to curl the fingers on her right hand into a fist.

Kuro had gone dead silent, so without looking, she had no way of knowing whether this worked or not. Bracing herself, Aliara opened her eyes, expecting the worst.

And there it was- her hand in a fist.

Mesmerized, Aliara tried again. She opened her fist, then closed it again. It worked- it actually worked! She raised one finger at a time until she was holding out all five. She clapped her hands together lightly and laced her fingers.

 _It actually worked._

"Yes!" Kuro shouted, and Aliara felt happy tears spring to her eyes as she continued to clench her hand into a fist and release. The black-haired boy grabbed her in a hug, squeezing hard enough to break a rib. "You did it!"

"It worked," Aliara said breathlessly, still completely dumbfounded. "I can't believe it."

"I'm the best brother in the world," Kuro said proudly, releasing her. "This-"

Aliara tested her hand out again by giving Kuro the middle finger. When he gasped at her, faking hurt, she grinned at him. "Sorry, just testing it out."

"Brat," he scolded, grabbing her in a headlock. "I always knew it would work."

"Thanks, moron," she mumbled, her voice muffled by his arm. Her eyes widened and she shoved his arm off. "Killua! I have to show Killua and Gon! And Bisky! And..." she trailed off as she ran out of people. "Ponzu too!"

"I'll take my leave, then," Kuro said. Aliara started to protest, but he shook his head. "I don't think Killua likes me too much."

"Maybe because you don't like him," she pointed out, rolling her eyes.

"And that's because he likes you," he shot back, hands on his hips.

They had a glare off before Aliara squealed, clapping her hands and relishing in the fact she was able to do so. "I can't believe it worked," she said with a dreamy sigh.

"See ya, kiddo," Kuro said with a roll of his eyes, ruffling her hair. "Go show your boyfriend what ya made."

"But I haven't even showed you all the features I put in," Aliara protested, smacking his hand away.

"I'll be back tomorrow," he corrected.

Aliara rolled her eyes as the door closed behind him. Killua and Gon should be back any minute... She ought to test these functions out before she tried to show them off.

She flipped her hand so it was palm up and pressed a small black button in the center of her palm. The tiny projector whirred to life, and Aliara hunted for her phone, which she'd thrown on the couch, and pulled up the image she'd been working on.

It was a blueprint for her glove. She'd taken a picture of her finished sketch and uploaded it onto her phone, using an advanced app to held add measurements and make a 3D picture of what it was going to look like. After plenty of careful wiring, she'd hooked the projector up to her phone- and to this app.

She clicked the small red button on her palm next, and the image of her completed glove popped up from her palm.

"YES!" Aliara cried out, punching the air with her left hand as a holographic blue image of her glove was displayed, hovering above her palm. She had yet another idea to go along with that, but she could touch that up later. She tapped both the red and black buttons to turn everything off again.

She held out her hand palm down and curled her mechanical pinky. A laser shot out of a metal column right where her pinky knuckle should've been, and Aliara grinned. "Just like my gloves," she mused, relaxing her hand.

She'd added a bunch of smaller things, too: a tiny knife popped out of a compartment, a tiny tool she used to pick locks, a small compartment for anything she wanted to store, a small slot for spare hair elastics, and then some. Aliara couldn't help but grin like an idiot as she tried out just about everything on her hand once, then twice, and then a third time.

Aliara heard the door slam and wasted no time sprinting out of her room.

"Killua! Gon! It's done!"

The looks on her best friends' faces had never made her happier.

* * *

 **Yikessss these chapters just get sloppier and sloppier! I was going to take my time and give this to you guys a few days late so I could add more and improve it, but I'm so busy all this week I figured I'd do it now.**

 **Thanks to _xenocanaan, RedBurningDragon, Eliza211, KilluaKagura, pupstarstar, Caraa, Oof, bunnyxstar, Audley Moore,_ and especially _supboyyyyy93_ for your lovely reviews! I can't remember the last time I got to read so many :')**

 **pupstarstar: Gon's hit his fourteenth birthday by now- by the timeline, I'm pretty sure it's mid May. It's hard to keep track :P Killua and Ali are still 13.**

 **This was the last of the filler chapters concerning Aliara's new hand! I'm so glad you guys have enjoyed, thank you all for the constant love and support!**


	71. Defeat

**Chapter** **71: Defeat**

It was the last day. The last chance for Gon and Killua to try and beat Knuckle and his partner, who was named Shoot. Aliara still had absolutely no idea what her test was supposed to be or who was supposed to 'judge' her, which served to be incredibly frustrating.

Killua started off his day oddly- with his face swelled up in four different places. "Sparring match with Bisky," was what he passed it off as, but Aliara could see the haunted look behind his eyes. When she tried to ask him about it, he'd decline or just shake his head.

They left to go fight Knuckle and Shoot late that night. Aliara didn't attend. How could she? She had no idea what her test was.

Killua was fidgety the entire day- well, as fidgety as he could be. He was constantly putting his hands in his pockets, then taking them out again and crossing his arms, then lacing his fingers. He couldn't decide on a position and just kept shifting, which was the only way Aliara could tell that he was nervous. Which was weird, because she couldn't really remember the last time Killua had been nervous.

"Bisky," Aliara said quietly, lounging on the couch in the main room and gazing at the door longingly. "What's my test supposed to be?"

The blonde woman, who was seated in a nearby armchair with a magazine in her hands, shrugged. "I have no idea. This is Netero we're dealing with, so it could be anything."

Aliara huffed. "I don't even know what the test is on. How is this fair? How am I supposed to pass something that I don't know about?" Bisky just hummed and flipped a page in her magazine. "Hey, Bisky? What'd you do to Killua yesterday?"

She finally looked up, frowning. "Are you referring to his injuries?"

"Yeah. He seemed pretty upset afterwards too."

"I'm surprised you could tell." Aliara shrugged casually and felt her cheeks redden slightly. "It is what he said. We sparred."

The black-haired girl frowned. "And?"

Bisky pursed her lips and went back to her magazine. "I just pointed out a few things about his fighting style."

Aliara bit back her response. She could try asking Killua later, but she had no idea if he'd actually tell her or not. It was clear that Bisky wasn't going to tell her anything else. Sighing, Aliara curled up in her spot and held up her new right hand, flexing it. She opened up her palm to reveal the projector installed in the center of her hand and clicked the little button to turn it on. It started whirring.

Bisky looked up from her magazine and raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"A projector," Aliara explained, grinning. "I've been working on it and I want to see if something works." She eyed the magazine Bisky was reading, and her emerald eyes settled on the man on the cover- a blond man wearing an expensive tuxedo. "One second," she mused as Bisky's wide eyes watched her work. Aliara pulled out her phone and searched up the magazine Bisky was reading online and found a picture of the man on the cover. She uploaded it to the app on her phone and watched as it settled into a 3D image. "Okay, let's try this," Aliara said, hitting the red button on her projector.

An holographic image appeared from her hand. It was the man in the suit, standing a foot tall in blue light. "It's him!" Bisky squealed, dropping her magazine and pressing her hands to her cheeks as sparkles appeared in her eyes. "He's so handsome!"

Aliara grinned and used her left hand to pull open a compartment on her metal hand. The blonde woman was too busy drooling over the 3D image to notice Aliara pull out two small finger caps, which she slipped onto her thumb and her forefinger with plenty of difficulty.

Bisky finally turned to Aliara. "What're those?"

"Something I'm trying out," the black-haired girl said softly, tapping her thumb and finger together on her left hand. The two little caps had tiny blue dots where her fingerprints were. "Okay, let's see if this works."

Aliara tapped her finger to the image, using the specially-designed finger pad, and swiped to the right.

The 3D image spun.

"It moves!" Bisky said excitedly, trying to tap the image but with no success. "It's because of those things, isn't it?"

She nodded, holding up her left hand and showing off the two pads with the blue dots on them. "They're made with a specific material that took me a while to find, kind of like what phone screens are made of but altered. It allows me to alter the 3D image that the projector produces."

Aliara pinched her thumb and finger together as she touched the image, then drew them apart. The image grew in size. "It's like you're zooming in," Bisky said in awe. "This is incredible."

"It's been a lot of work," Aliara agreed, her heart swelling from the compliment.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as both of the girls felt a dark, brooding presence enter the room. They both turned around to see Palm, clutching a kitchen knife. "You pass," she croaked, her stringy hair falling into her face.

"I... I what?" Aliara managed, cocking her head.

"You pass your test," Palm repeated. "I was the judge."

The assassin blinked. "Wait, I passed? What was the test?"

"President Netero saw that you had lost your hand," the creepy lady started, her sunken eyes locking onto Aliara's green ones. "He wanted to see how you dealt with the damage afterwards. Not physically, but mentally. You did both."

"That's it?" Bisky asked with a frown. "I thought the president was craftier than that."

"He acknowledges that Aliara's a thirteen year old girl," Palm continued, "and that she lost something precious to her. If she let it tear her apart or just sulked, she would've failed. It was testing her mental strength."

"Oh," the black-haired girl said, still surprised. "So I passed!"

"Killua and Gon have to beat Morel's apprentices," the lady muttered, ignoring Aliara's excitement, clutching her knife dangerously. "They have to. They have to. They have to."

"Time for me to take my leave," Bisky said, grabbing her purse from the nearby table and sliding her magazine inside. "Tell Gon and Killua that I wish them well."

"Leaving already?" Aliara interrupted, frowning.

Bisky smiled. "Yeah, duty calls. I'm sure we'll see each other soon, though."

They both hugged, and Aliara waved to Bisky as the girl walked out the door and carefully shut it behind her. She almost shivered when she felt Palm standing behind her again. "They both must win," the lady repeated.

"They will," Aliara assured her.

* * *

They didn't.

Aliara never asked what happened. Both of them came back late, looking defeated and exhausted. Gon had a tiny devilish creature attached to his shoulder that she refrained from asking him about, and the dark expression on Killua's face spoke volumes.

They promised to see Knuckle and Shoot off at the border. Gon cried. The truck ride back was quiet and frustrating. Aliara wanted to ask what had happened, but was afraid of Killua pushing her away or affecting Gon's emotional state.

It was worse when they returned home.

They were pushing open the door to the house when they were hit by a huge wave of deadly aura- enough to make Aliara want to run. "What the heck?" she muttered as Killua opened the door to Palm's room.

Hundreds of dolls. All looking like Gon and Killua- and there were a few with her looks as well. Palm was stabbing all of them repeatedly with her kitchen knife, digging the stuffing out of them. Her hands looked like claws.

"You said," Palm growled, her blood lust going insane, "that you'd take me to NGL! I'm holding you responsible. You promised."

"I know," Gon said slowly as Aliara inched backwards, away from Palm. "I'm sorry."

"I," Palm declared, snarling, "do not want your apologies. Swallowing a thousand needles won't do much good. Instead-" Aliara and Killua both held their breaths- "Just once, you have to listen to anything I say."

Killua took his chance and stepped in. "Do you have any idea what Gon's going through? You-"

"I understand," Gon said, completely ignoring Killua.

"What?!" Aliara sputtered. "But-"

"Go out with me."

This effectively shut up both Aliara and Killua as their jaws dropped, staring at the erratic lady clutching the kitchen knife between her fingers like a vice. "What..." Aliara trailed off. Gon would have to... go out with Palm?

"Alright."

"WHAT?!"

* * *

They spent the remainder of the day at the gym, training.

This was when Aliara got updated. Gon had lost to Knuckle and also surrendered the use of his nen for thirty days. So, he was permanently locked in a 'zetsu' state until then. Killua had also lost, but he didn't really give her much detail at all.

It was an expensive gym, and it reminded Aliara of the gym in the basement of her mansion. Except this one was much more populated, almost entirely by men. Bulky men wearing tank tops and shorts were lifting weights and glancing around, seeking out the competition.

The only other girls in here were the two behind the front desk. Aliara couldn't help but feel self-conscious.

"C'mon," Killua said, grabbing her wrist and towing her to the weights rack. "Let's train."

"Killua," she murmured, flushing, "everyone's staring."

The white-haired boy surveyed the gym and noticed that Aliara was completely right. Gon seemed oblivious, picking up the various weights at the side. "You're right. Why?"

Aliara nearly face-palmed as she ticked off her fingers. "One, we're kids. Everyone else here is an adult. Two, I've got a mechanical hand. I really need to get gloves. Three, I'm the only girl here!"

"Who cares?" Killua said nonchalantly, turning to the weight rack.

Steam nearly poured out of Aliara's ears as her hands clenched into fists. "You don't get it," she growled softly, flushing again.

"You're nervous?" the white-haired boy asked, raising his eyebrows. Aliara rolled her eyes and looked away. "You don't really do well with crowds, do you?"

"Always judged," she said bitterly, crossing her arms.

Killua shrugged. "You've got no reason to be nervous. Here, back up a bit."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it."

Frowning, Aliara shuffled back awkwardly, probably about five meters away. "Now what?"

"Hey, Ali," Killua called, turning to her. In his hand, he held up a solid metal bar with weights attached to either end, totaling at least two hundred and fifty pounds. He held it up in one hand like it was nothing. "Catch."

He tossed the bar with the weights attached to it at her, and she caught it in one hand, frowning and lifting it up. "What was that supposed to do?"

Killua grinned cheekily. "Look behind you."

Aliara turned, immediately spotting a group of four men that had been snickering at her when she came in. Their jaws had fallen and they were staring at her and Killua like they were demons of some sort. Aliara noticed one of them, who was sweating buckets, balancing a bar with one hundred and twenty pounds on his shoulders.

And she'd just caught a two hundred and fifty pound bar with one hand.

"Oh," she said quietly, blushing.

Killua shrugged as if to say it was nothing, but the smirk on his face said otherwise. "I don't get why you care so much," he added, picking up a three hundred pound bar. "But you're tough, you moron."

"Shut up," Aliara grumbled with a roll of her eyes.

"You guys coming?" Gon called, waving at them from an open spot he had claimed in the corner of the gym. Slinging the bar over her shoulder, Aliara jogged over and Killua followed. Aliara ignored the jealous stares of the people in the gym as they all carried around two hundred and fifty pound weights to three hundred pound weights effortlessly.

Killua twirled the weight around in one hand before settling it on his shoulders and squatting. "So Gon, have you ever been on a date?"

"Yeah, plenty of times," the boy said casually.

Aliara almost dropped her weight. Killua seemed as surprised as her. "Wait, what?"

"Mostly with Mito-san," Gon corrected, speaking of his aunt back on Whale Island.

"Makes sense," Killua mused, then his eyes widened. "Wait, there were more?"

Gon shrugged. "Some ladies who only like younger guys would come to the island and would want someone to show them around. I'd accompany them around town and they'd show me all sorts of things."

"Experienced..." Aliara and Killua muttered in unison.

"How about you two? Ever been on a date?"

"No!" Killua spluttered, almost dropping the three hundred pound weight. "My entire life has been dedicated to training and becoming an assassin, and since I've met you, I've been with you the entire time."

"I have," Aliara mused, scrunching up her eyebrows. "If you could call an arranged dinner a 'date'."

Killua frowned. "That doesn't count."

"Okay," the black-haired girl agreed. "So, no then."

Gon frowned, cocking an eyebrow. "I thought the time you went to the Hunter exam together was a date."

They both flushed, shaking their heads and glancing at each other. "No," they chorused.

"You two should go on a date," the dark-haired boy hummed, hefting the weight over his head.

"What?" Aliara croaked, her face reddening.

"Why?" Killua asked, genuinely confused. "We spend all our time together anyways."

 _Well, he's not wrong._

"Tomorrow, when I'm on my date with Palm, you two should go out," he said with a grin. "I don't think Palm would appreciate you coming with us, but I'm sure you two would have fun together."

Killua glanced at her, his sapphire eyes wide and questioning. "If you're up for it."

"As long as you're asking," Aliara retorted.

"Why are you always so difficult?" the white-haired boy whined, tossing his weight from one hand to the other. "Fine. Yes, I'm asking. Let's go on a date."

"Okay," she agreed, trying her best to keep her cheeks to a reasonable colour.

Gon beamed. "Perfect! You two are so cute!"

Aliara and Killua both went red and started sputtering curses at Gon, but neither of them meant it. To be honest? Aliara thought that she and Killua were kinda cute, too.

* * *

 **If anyone has any problems with how heavy the weights are, look up how heavy the door that Killua opened was. These overpowered children are way too strong for their own good.**

 **Sorry I'm late! Next chapter you'll get a fight scene, I promise :)**

 **Also: supboyyyyy93: Reading your reviews has been so much fun. I'm so happy you stuck with this story all the way through. Thank you! :)**

 **See you guys next week! :D**


	72. Rabbit

**Chapter** **72: Rabbit**

"Ali," Killua warned her on the morning of their date, "we have a problem."

The black-haired girl frowned, cocking her head to the side. "What? Why?"

"Gon doesn't have his nen."

"He what?! Why?"

Killua sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, after he lost his fight with Knuckle. Use gyo and you'll see the little demon on his shoulder, it's trapping him in a zetsu state for thirty days."

"Oh, god," Aliara murmured, shaking her head. Her eyes widened. "But all the Chimera ants roaming around! What if-"

The news had been picking up lately. Chimera ants had scattered across the the area, killing humans with no mercy and becoming stronger with every step they took. Ordinary soldiers had no way of knowing what they were up against and the creepy creatures had already taken many lives.

"Exactly," Killua said, watching her reach the same conclusion as him. "He's got no way of properly defending himself. Especially when he's alone with Palm on his date."

The white-haired boy paused and opened his mouth before shutting it again, biting his lip. Aliara watched him struggle internally for another moment before she sighed. "You want to watch over Gon, don't you?"

He nodded. "I know I promised you a date, but-"

"Don't apologize!" Aliara interrupted, waving her hands. "I want to watch over him too! It's actually a smart idea."

Killua's blue eyes widened. "Wait, you're okay with it?"

"Of course!" the black-haired girl said with a smile, grinning at him. "Gon's like a brother to me, I don't want him to get hurt."

"Okay, perfect," he said, exhaling, they he leaned in to hug her. "You're the best."

Aliara hugged him back, grinning into his shoulder. "We can always have our date another time."

"Tomorrow?" Killua asked, pulling back slightly and smiling innocently at her.

She beamed. "Tomorrow."

Killua leaned in and kissed her softly of the forehead. "You're the best, honestly. I'm really lucky."

"Oh, shut up," she replied with a laugh, flushing. "I'm the lucky one here."

"Nah, just me."

"No, me. I don't know how you put up with me."

"I'm not going to argue with that." Aliara glared at him and tried to punch him but he sidestepped and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "We're both lucky," he concluded, resting his chin on her shoulder.

Aliara beamed, blushing, then drove her elbow into Killua's stomach (lightly, of course!). "Whatever," she huffed, leaning against him for a half second before pushing off of him and walking forwards. "Gon said he was meeting Palm in ten minutes. We're professional stalkers, this should be fun."

Killua rolled his eyes. "Yeah. At least try and disguise yourself, okay?"

She turned back to him and grinned. "Sunglasses!"

* * *

 _This is surprisingly fun for a not-date,_ Aliara mused, sipping her hot chocolate from the plastic cup. _Even if we do look a little odd._

Aliara and Killua had both gone incognito. Killua had picked out an over-sized toque that he pulled over his fluffy white hair, plus a baggy faded sweater and loose pants. Aliara looked a little bit better- she was wearing her sunglasses, a plain black toque, her burgundy hoodie and navy blue jeans, plus her shoes, obviously. She taken all her hair and piled it up on her head in some sort of messy bun, tucking it away under the toque and letting her bangs fall into her face.

She'd chosen to wear gloves. Not the custom ones she designed, but plain black ones that ended at her wrists. A little bit of her metal hand poked out from under the glove, but she pulled her sleeves down and she was fine.

"How come," Killua said, his sapphire eyes poking out from behind magazine, "I look like a homeless person but you look like some rebellious school girl?"

Aliara smirked, lifting her sunglasses up so she could stare him in the eye. "It's called fashion. Maybe you've heard of it."

Killua scoffed at her and lifted his hot chocolate cup to his lips, taking down the rest of his drink in a gulp. He grumbled something that she couldn't quite catch and she giggled at him, draining the rest of her beverage.

Gon and Palm- who had made a complete transformation and now looked very pleasant- were sipping their own drinks and chatting enthusiastically about who-knows-what. The couple- well, not really, but Aliara didn't know what else to call them- got up and started to go off for a walk. She and Killua followed at a distance, hopefully leaving Gon unaware of their presence.

Things started getting bad when they went into the forest.

"You sense that?" Killua muttered, his blue eyes suddenly colder.

She nodded. Some sort of creature was near, she could tell by its aura. "We need to lead it away from Gon," she murmured, glancing worriedly at Killua.

He nodded back to her, then made his move, taking off in the direction of the aura. Aliara cast one last look at Gon and Palm, who were making their way to a clearing, and steeled her resolve. Gon was the most important piece of this puzzle at the moment, and this was something she needed to do. Aliara pushed the growing concern behind her and took off after Killua.

 _This is a bad idea._

"It's headed this way," Killua warned, slowing down. Aliara decelerated, slowing herself to a stop next to Killua. It was close.

Something emerged from the bushes, and it was so obscure that Aliara almost laughed. The creature was tall, with long rabbit ears that flopped down on his oddly-shaped head. Its arms extended into oddly shaped wings, and it was wearing some sort of black cropped top and what looked like black bathing suit bottoms. Its thighs were as thick as tree trunks. It was so ugly and misshapen that Aliara would've laughed if it wasn't for the fact it was glaring at them with murder in its eyes.

"I remember you," the creature snarled, its voice odd and high-pitched. "You're that kid from before. And now you have a girl with you! Even better."

Killua cursed under his breath. "You know this thing?" Aliara whispered.

He nodded. "Gon and I fought it back in the NGL. Our attacks barely did anything to it. And now it looks like it has nen."

"Just consider it your unlucky day," the creature boasted. "Pain from hell is what you'll feel from now on! But it won't last forever. Wasn't there another one of you? If you tell me where he is, I could make your death just a little more painless."

Aliara and Killua started shifting slowly and the creature followed. They were almost turning in a circle, until Killua stopped. "The wind's behind us," he murmured, and the black-haired girl raised her eyebrows. She'd never even considered the fact that the creature might be able to scent Gon. At least, with the wind blowing from them to the creature, it wouldn't catch Gon or Palm's scents.

"I suppose," the creature mused, cracking its knuckles (it had hands on the ends of its wings, oddly enough), "that it doesn't matter if you tell me or not. If I take your heads and swing them around and scream, he'll be bound to show up."

Aliara slipped her gloves off, sliding them in her pockets with her sunglasses. "Ready, Killua?" she asked softly, summoning her aura.

To her surprise, Killua wasn't. He was frozen in his spot, his eyes wide, beads of sweat running down his forehead. He looked terrified. _Is the creature really that strong?_ No... He's not scared of the rabbit thing. "I won't," he mumbled, pressing his hands to the sides of his head.

"Killua?" Aliara pressed, rolling up her sleeves as the rabbit cackled and started moving forwards. "Talk to me."

"Gon," he hissed under his breath, looking extremely conflicted, "and you. And..."

The rabbit lunged suddenly, and the black-haired girl dove, rolling out of the way. It was instinct for her now to expect Killua to do the same, so when Aliara looked back and saw Killua flying back across the clearing from the rabbit's hit.

 _What the hell? What's wrong with Killua?_

The rabbit cackled loudly, already going after Killua. Aliara sped out of nowhere and planted her foot in the rabbit's side, knocking it away. The creature went surprisingly far, almost falling over. "Killua!" the black-haired girl called, grabbing her toque and whipping it off her head. It was falling off anyways. "What-"

The white-haired boy looked up from his position in the clearing and Aliara was shocked to see tears in the corners of his eyes. He mumbled something that Aliara didn't catch and sunk to his knees, gripping the sides of his head.

"Bitch," she heard the creature snarled, and Aliara looked up again to see the rabbit back in action. "I'm going to rip you apart."

Aliara glanced behind her again and saw Killua still crumpled up, his hands clawing at his head. "Killua, snap out of it," she warned, pulling out her hands to a fighting stance. "I need you."

"Aw," the rabbit mocked, cocking his head. "Is he scared?" He took another step. "Are _you_ scared?"

She didn't wait for the rabbit to say anything else. She opened her hands and collected her nen, protecting her left hand with a thin layer of energy to keep it safe from burns as she summoned her sword- a three foot long katana. "You wish," she retorted, raising the sword up and pointing it at him.

"Where the hell did that come from?" the Chimera ant snapped, surprised but not scared. "Come at me with your magic tricks, girly. Just try it."

So she did. Aliara jumped in and slashed, slicing across his middle, but the rabbit jumped over it and lunged for her. She ducked, rolling out of the way, and the sword in her hands morphed into a flaming gun. She fired three times- he dodged the first two shots but the third struck his shoulder. Aliara watched in satisfaction as the creature howled, brushing furiously at the glowing embers that had charred his skin. Skin? Fur? Aliara wasn't even sure. "You bitch," the rabbit snarled. He started closing the distance again, dodging the next two shots that Aliara fired off.

 _Weapon number three!_ Feeling a bit excited, Aliara twisted the flames in her hands again, turning them into a six foot scythe. It was simple- just a pole with the blade attached, no funky designs- but the flames that made up the blade with glowing close to blue. Those flames were seriously hot.

The rabbit didn't seem to care. He aimed a kick at her and Aliara slid underneath his leg, slicing the air above her. He raised his leg so that the scythe wouldn't touch him but ended up stumbling back, so Aliara advanced on him and hooked the scythe behind him.

"Hot!" the nasty creature screamed, but the black-haired girl shut him up effectively but planting her fist in his face.

The Chimera ant cried out and swung wildly, and by a lucky shot he caught Aliara in the side of the head. She was tossed aside, the flames that made up her weapon seemingly evaporating into the air. Aliara hit the ground and rolled, getting back up to her feet. She touched the side of her head gingerly and pulled her hand back, sticky with blood. _Ouch._

"I'll take care of this one first," she heard the creature say, and suddenly Aliara felt a lot more scared. The rabbit, apparently forgetting about her, turned his back towards her and advanced towards Killua.

Aliara pulled up her robotic hand and fired.

The laser caught the rabbit between the shoulder blades and he fell flat on his face. Aliara could've laughed but instead she flipped a dial on the back of her hand, ready just in case the rabbit got up.

Unfortunately, he was as tough as he looked, and the creature got up immediately, expression filled with annoyance. "You think that puny little laser would do anything to me?" he snarled, turning back to her.

"Nope," Aliara agreed, changing her hand position. Instead of pointing her fist at him, she opened and hand and held out her palm. "But this will."

"What-"

The rabbit never got to say anything else but a large beam of pure blue flames shot out of Aliara palm and struck him in the chest, burning a hole the size of a small dinner plate through his heart.

The Chimera ant collapsed and didn't get back up.

Aliara sighed, flipping the switch again so that the projector slid back into place on her palm. The large laser beam was extremely powerful and required her to channel her nen into her hand, but it was harder to control and a lot less precise. She'd kept it hidden behind the projector, because otherwise it looked like a large hole in her palm.

 _Killua._

Eyes wide, Aliara sprinted across the clearing to where Killua had shifted from a collapsed position to a standing position. The black-haired girl was terrified to see that his head was covered in blood. "Did he get you?!" Aliara cried out, rushing over to him and grabbing his shoulders. "Did he hit you?"

Killua looked up and met her gaze. Tears were running down his cheeks and blood flowed freely from his forehead, and he was gripping a small pin in his hand. "That bastard," he croaked, chuckling as more tears rolled down his cheeks. "He tricked me."

"He... He what?" Aliara managed, rubbing her hands against his shoulders. "Killua?"

"Illumi," he whispered, wiping at his eyes and holding up the pin. "He stuck this thing in my head."

She was confused. Killua had reached into his own head to dig that out?

"Oh, this is refreshing," the white-haired boy said with a loud sigh of relief. "It's like I can finally see. His mentality was drilled into me; run away if you're facing someone you can't beat, run away if you don't know their abilities, self preservation. But..." he trailed off. "It's gone."

He laughed and Aliara wrapped her arms around him, holding on tight and blinking the tears out of her eyes. Killua had gone through all that, yet he still stuck with them and fought with them? Even with a voice in his head telling him to run, to give up?

It took a minute, but Killua eventually wrapped his arms around her waist, sighing and pressing his face into her shoulder. Aliara hugged him tight, already planning a bloody and gruesome murder for Illumi in her head.

"I'm sorry," he murmured into her shoulder. "I-"

"You have nothing to apologize for," she said softly, rubbing her hands on his back. "I handled it fine. It's not your fault."

He sort of nodded, exhaling slowly. There was a pause before he whispered, "Gon."

"Crap," Aliara said, pulling away. "Is he okay?"

"Let's go," Killua offered, turning back the way they came.

The black-haired girl agreed and followed him into the trees.

* * *

 **Pretty bad place to end it but I was lost. My bad.**

 **Thank you for the lovely reviews! You all make me so happy! (Except that one review telling me to find Jesus and stuff... _Live-to-forgive,_ how do I tell you politely that I'm an Atheist?)**

 ** _Oof:_ Aw you're so sweet! No actually, I'm learning what I can from the internet. I've always been a little bit interested in stuff like engineering (...and I've read wayyy too many books XD)**

 **Thank you all! I love you! :D**


	73. Scars

**Chapter** **73: Scars**

Something was horribly wrong, and Aliara realized too late.

She never should have let her guard down; never should have ran to comfort Killua and make sure he was okay without double checking the victim. Hadn't her assassination training taught her anything? No, because she let her feelings get in the way.

She felt goosebumps prick her skin and she stiffened as she felt the aura of the Chimera Ant right behind her. "You should've gone for the head," she heard him snarl, and something pierced her in the back.

Within a second, the pain was gone, and whatever had been touching her was removed. Gasping, Aliara stumbled and turned and saw the headless body of the Chimera Ant topple over, still with a hole in its damn chest, and Killua standing a few feet away with its head in his hands.

"They don't die unless you get the head," the white-haired boy explained, releasing his grip on the rabbit's head and letting it fall to the ground. His eyes widened as he looked backed and saw Aliara struggling to keep her feet. "He hit you?!"

Hissing through her teeth, the black-haired girls sunk to her knees. God, this _killed._ Back injuries were especially painful, and shameful- it meant the enemy had sneaked up on you from behind and succeeded.

"I can walk," she managed, pushing herself off her knees and to her feet. "Let's go back to the house."

"Are you sure?" Killua pressed, hands gliding over the back of her sweater, about to lift it up and check her injury.

Aliara nodded, forcing her sweater back down. "He didn't hit me that hard. We can treat it when we get back to the house."

"Ali," he warned, narrowing his eyes at her.

She laughed bitterly, shaking her head and glaring at the ground. "Wow. I didn't even sense him. I should've checked, I should've sensed him coming. This is on me."

"I'm not going to let you punish yourself just because you're pissed at yourself," Killua snapped.

His hands pressed on her skin just above her hips, his hands cold. "I can make it to the house," Aliara replied, shaking her head. "It'll be easier to treat me there. And we're just wasting time."

Killua frowned at her and pursed his lips, silently agreeing. He turned so his back was to her and crouched down, bending his knees. "Hop on."

Somewhere within her stubborn mind, Aliara realized that this was his compromise. Sighing, the black-haired girl jumped and landed softly on his back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and ignoring the throbbing pain in her back. "I'm good," she whispered, her mouth right next to his ear. He heard her and started running, moving evidently faster and swifter than before.

Aliara buried her face in the side of his neck. _I just want all of this to be over._

It didn't take long to get back to the house, and it didn't take long for them to leave again either. Palm had gone psycho and was forcing Gon to write on hundreds of different papers on the floor saying who-knows-what. With a quick shift in position, Killua had Aliara under one arm and Gon under the other and they were running away from the psychotic lady who was waving kitchen knives at them.

They chose a hotel and picked out a small room for the night. Knuckle and Shoot were coming back tomorrow with Kite, so the plan was that they'd meet up with them tomorrow. (Did this mean their date would be postponed again? Sigh.)

They got back to the hotel and Killua insisted that Aliara show him her injury. With a sigh, Aliara pulled her burgundy hoodie off, revealing her black tank top, and Killua pulled up the back of it. "What the hell, Ali," the white-haired boy hissed, and Aliara swallowed.

"How bad is it?" she whispered quietly, turning her head. "I can't see."

"I can't believe you said you were fine," he said with a scowl, turning to Gon, who was fussing over the bloody scar on Killua's head and turned when he realized how bad Aliara's back was. "Gon, can you grab me the bandages?"

A good few minutes later, after cleaning up the worst of Aliara's back injury and getting ready to wrap it, the black-haired girl's stomach growled. Laughing, Gon had said, "I'll go get food," and after telling him not to run into Palm, the dark-haired boy had left.

They had been seated on the bed, cross-legged, with Aliara facing the wall and Killua facing her back. Aliara spun around and tilted her head towards Killua. "Can I clean up your injury?"

Killua frowned. "I haven't even wrapped yours yet."

"Then you can deal with my head," the black-haired girl said with a shrug, tapping the side of her head.

His eyes widened. "You've got more injuries?" His hand tapped the side of her head and came away sticky with blood. "Damn, Ali, you should start telling me these things."

"I'm not a doll," she said half-heartedly, thinking back to her life in that mansion, dressing up in fancy ballgowns and with fancy hair and practically looking like a doll. She shook her head, took the bandages and started setting to work on Killua's forehead while he did the same for her. "I'm tougher than I look," she said, raising her eyebrows.

Killua grinned and kissed her softly on the forehead. "Tough as nails."

Aliara flushed and they both went on with their own separate tasks, finishing easily in under a minute. The white-haired boy grinned at her. "Now, your back."

"Fine," Aliara huffed, twisting around again and crossing her arms.

"Hey, Ali," he asked suddenly and quietly, his cold fingers pressed on her shoulder, "I don't want to sound weird, but is it okay if you take your tank top off? It keeps falling down and I need to wrap this up."

Her breath kind of hitched in her throat and Killua corrected immediately, "it's fine if you're not comfortable with it."

She swallowed. _If he sees..._ Aliara nodded slowly, trying her best to ignore the intimacy of the situation and calm the flush in her cheeks. "Yeah, it's okay," she said slowly, grabbing the bottom of her shirt and pulling it over her head. She still had her sports bra on but this was still a bit nerve-wracking.

Aliara knew that Killua had seen what she was dreading because he paused. "Wow. Ali..."

She pursed her lips, blinking. "Yeah."

"Scars," Killua said aloud, and his fingers traced some of the ones on her back. She shivered as he found one particularly long one that traced her spinal cord. "Oh my god."

"It's not like I had a nice life at home," she said bitterly, glaring at the bed sheets.

He got back to what he was supposed to be doing and started wrapping the bandages around her middle, working silently as Aliara bowed her head, lacing her fingers together in her lap. She'd always hated the scars that ran along her back, but it was a part of growing up. Failure meant punishment, and it was as simple as that. Aliara had always been mediocre among most of her family, which had lead to a sufficient amount of punishment. Still, it'd been over a year, maybe a year and a half since she ran away. She'd hoped that at least _some_ of the scars would have vanished.

"I'm done," Killua said quietly, and Aliara immediately reached for her shirt again until Killua's hand settled on top of hers. "Hey," he said softly. "Can you look at me?"

The black-haired girl turned, biting her lip, and tried to meet Killua's eyes. "Are you ashamed?" he asked, his sapphire eyes staring into her soul. "Of your scars?"

"Sometimes," she admitted. "It's just how I grew up. They're proof that I failed countless times. But I was never really... well, _concerned_ with impressing my mom, to say the least." Aliara's mind was filled of torturous images from her childhood and she clenched her hands into fists. "I mean, it's not like I asked to grow up in a place like that. I just... I'm a _failure._ And those scars constantly remind me-"

Killua's hand touched her shoulders and he pulled her into his chest, and even with the lack of her shirt Aliara felt a whole lot warmer. "You're strong," he whispered, his arms wrapping around her bare back. "You ran away from your own personal hell. That takes guts."

"Killua," Aliara murmured, not sure what else to say.

He pulled back and cupped her face with his hands, his thumbs drawing circles on her cheeks. "You're the strongest girl I know. Promise." They both leaned in at the same time and their lips met, but for whatever reason, this kiss lasted a lot longer than their other ones. Aliara kind of melted, sinking into Killua's touch as her hands found places of their own- one on his shoulder and her metal hand touching his knee.

It felt like forever when they pulled apart but Killua leaned back in again and Aliara didn't complain. It was only after they broke apart the second time that Aliara had completely calmed down, accepting her moment with Killua and banishing the raging thoughts of her past into the back of her mind.

"Thank you," she said slowly, smiling genuinely at him, "Killua."

"Anything to see you smile."

Aliara almost melted, tackling him in a hug again. "You're the best," she mumbled into the side of his neck.

They both just kind of tumbled, falling back onto the bed and giggling, and by the time Gon had returned, they had passed out, with Aliara curled up against Killua and the white-haired boy with an arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders.

* * *

Things went wrong when Morel and Knov brought Kite back in the following days.

Kite was dead.

It was a reality that Gon refused to accept; a reality that he _couldn't_ accept. If he accepted it, it would've meant admitting that he'd let Kite down. That it was his fault. Aliara was sure that Killua felt equally guilty, as much as he tried to pretend he wasn't.

Shoot brought the grey-haired man back in a small cage (something to do with his nen, she supposed) and when the tiny form of Kite stepped out, he grew to full size. His body was covered in scars and his moves were jagged and sudden, like a puppet. He had died, and the Chimera ants had turned him into... this. Whatever this was.

"Kite," Gon called, his expression revealing his sorrow and his regret. "It's okay."

He took a step closer and the corpse lashed out, striking Gon across the face.

Aliara almost stepped in, starting to feel angry, but Killua put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay." She didn't believe him, but Gon stood back up and walked towards his mentor again and again, getting hit back every time. Aliara flinched every single time he was hit, and came to the conclusion that Gon was purposely holding back his reflexes and allowing himself to get hit. She could understand, unfortunately.

The corpse swung, and for the first time, Gon dodged, ducking right underneath the swing and wrapping his arms around Kite in a hug. "Sorry, Kite," he said quietly, his words muffled. "You're like this because of me."

The puppet, which seemed to be frozen, stiffened and Gon backed away. "Level two," Knuckle said, crossing his arms. "Activates on touch."

After a few tense seconds drifted by, Gon clenched his hands in fists and turned his back on Kite. "Wait for me," he muttered, marching away. "I'll be back soon." When he passed Aliara and Killua, he turned to the two of them and glared. "No one touches him but me."

The fierce look on his face should've scared her; instead, she felt nothing but sadness as Gon walked away.

"What did you three do in such a small amount of time?" Knuckle whispered, turning to Killua.

"We didn't do anything," Aliara supplied, crossing her arms.

"The opponents were the ones who did something," Killua added.

They followed Gon, watching the anger and frustration build up as he walked away, head held down. Aliara uncrossed her arms and reached for Killua's hand, which he accepted without hesitation. They would all get through this.

They'd be okay.

* * *

 **Many thanks to _Ploy_ for pointing out the Chimera Ant can only die if you separate the head- I had no idea but it lead to a cute little filler chapter.**

 **Big thank yous to _Ploy, kitsunelover300, TheAngelicPyro, supboyyyyy93, Eliza211,_ and _Skyla-chan.99_ for the lovely reviews! :)**

 **No big news at the moment, other than the fact I am now done exams and am on summer break! :) Hopefully this will mean more writing, but if you know me at all, it'll mean starting my ten-different-stories-that-will-never-actually-be-published phase. I've got about seven differnet stories with anywhere from two to ten chapters prepared but I don't think I could commit to finishing them XD**

 **I hope everyone has a lovely summer and a lovely day! :D**


	74. Infiltration

**Chapter** **74: Infiltration**

The train ride to the East Gorteau was relatively quiet but held an underlying tone of tension that nobody wanted to address. Aliara spent the majority of the train ride tampering with her hand, removing it in order to work on it (which caused a bit of a surprise with Morel and Knov, whom Aliara decided she did not like). She looked up a map of the main palace in the East Gorteau and downloaded a copy to her phone, which she started fidgeting around with in her blueprinting app. She wanted to put the image on the projector but it would need more work.

Gon's nen would be back that night. After that lovely display of bloodlust they had witnessed yesterday, Aliara wasn't too sure if this would be a good thing or not.

When they got the the Republic of the East Gorteau, they stopped somewhere for food and a quick debriefing of what was going on. Apparently, the Supreme Leader of the East Gorteau, someone named Diego or something, was summoning every single citizen in the area to the palace in ten days. They referred to it as the sorting.

"Colt said that the sorting of the citizens would take place there," Morel said, adjusting his dark glasses. According to them, Colt was a Chimera ant who was on their side. "They apparently know a method of forcing their nen out."

"About ninety nine percent of the people in sorting will die," Knov said grimly. "We have to stop them before that. We only have ten days."

"By the way," Killua interjected, "what's the old geezer doing now?"

Aliara rolled her eyes when she realized Killua was talking about the president. Knov replied, "Hiding out in the West Gorteau for now."

"He's left us orders," Morel said, popping open a text on his phone. "I swear, the old geezer has ears in hell. He wants us to split into three groups and draw the soldier ants away from the king."

They spent the rest of lunch discussing their plans and what the Chimera ants were doing, but Aliara tuned most of it out. They regrouped again later that night, and Aliara got to see the tiny red devil that had been clinging to Gon vanish in a puff of smoke. Gon tried out his ren and seemed surprised when the nen actually showed up.

"Gon," Morel grunted, crossing his arms, "sorry, but I still don't accept you."

Aliara was about to open her mouth and call him out for his bullshit, but Killua put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her.

"I think I need to see your readiness," he continued. "Hit me. Imagine that I'm your revenge for Kite. If it's a sissy hit, I'll call in another hunter."

"Can I?" Gon asked, his voice eerily quiet. "Seriously?"

"Don't kid me," he scoffed, tearing off his shirt. "If you don't, you fail." With a huge surge of energy, Morel put himself on the defense, his body swelling up with nen. Gon shut his eyes briefly before opening them again with a completely different look on his face.

Aliara's best friend crouched slightly, bringing his hands to his hip. "First up," he chanted, "rock!"

An abnormal swell of energy hit the battlefield and Gon released insane amounts of nen- more than Aliara could ever dream of having. The dark look in his eyes only intensified. Gon clenched his teeth and was about to move when Killua came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Gon, I think that's enough." He looked up at Morel with sadness in his eyes. "Right?"

"Y... Yes."

The dark look in Gon's eyes vanished and was replaced with his usual innocent and carefree expression. "Ah! Sorry, Morel!" He put his hands together in a prayer. "I was about to kill you!"

Morel coughed and stammered out a bunch of apologies or something, then started to make plans. Aliara bit her lip and shuffled up behind Gon, wrapping her arms around his back. "Ali?" she heard him whisper, but she didn't care. She pressed the side of her face against his back and tried to suppress her tears.

What kind of monster had her friend turned into?

* * *

Infiltrating the East Gorteau turned out to be easier than Aliara had initially suspected. They took off through the woods and hid from everyone else easily, still (hopefully) unknown to the Chimera ants. The king and his three guards.

Their trio had been tasked with taking out one ant called Neferpitou, who was apparently the one to kill Kite. Gon stiffened up every time someone mentioned the name, and the black-haired girl could guess that he wanted to take out the ant himself.

It only got more difficult when they made it to a village, only to find it completely deserted. Everyone had been slaughtered and buried just outside the village (the bodies hadn't been buried deep enough and wild dogs had come to dig up the 'graves'), blood splattered some of the walls and there were obvious signs of scuffle. They could only come to the conclusion that the ants' selection had begun.

"So we have two options," Killua concluded, "we can stick with our plan and stay undercover and try to make it to the ant, or we can do this along the way. We can create a commotion by taking out the spy being controlled in this selection thing from each town."

She nodded along, and turned to Gon. Gon nodded in determination. "Let's do it. We can't just stand still and keep quiet."

Aliara half-smiled. She felt the same way. _Damn, these two idiots have turned me into such a softie._

"I understand," Killua said with a soft smile, and Aliara realized how much more caring he'd become since she'd met him. "Let's do it. But I'm going to do it alone, you two hide."

 _So much for that._ "No way," she interjected. "I'm not-"

"Three people would be easier-" Gon started.

"No," Killua said firmly. "Don't forget our most important objective! We have to defeat that Chimera ant soldier. That's all you should be thinking about."

"No offense," Aliara said quickly, frowning, "but I think Gon wants to kill this thing a lot more than I do." She turned to him and he nodded. "Let me help you. Please. I don't even know who we're going to be fighting anyways."

Killua frowned. "It'd be easier if I did it-"

"Alone?" the black-haired girl snapped, crossing her arms. "Like hell. We'll cover a lot more ground with two of us, especially if we split up."

They had a glare off for another moment before Gon rolled his eyes. "Both of you are so stubborn."

"Fine," the white-haired boy relented, huffing and throwing his hands above his head. "Fine!"

She grinned. She won. "Thank you," Aliara said for good measure. She turned to Gon and gave him a quick hug. "Stay safe," she added with a forced smile, thinking about the bloodlust they had seen. _Maybe it would be better if I stayed... No. I can trust Gon. I'll be more helpful this way._

"I will," Gon promised, smiling softly.

"Don't you dare intervene with anything," Killua said, almost glaring at him. "Promise me you'll stay hidden."

He promised.

They walked together for a bit longer in silence (at one point, Killua turned around and glared at something in the trees but later decided it was nothing) until they reached a fork in the path. Aliara and Killua went left, and Gon went right.

Aliara pulled out her phone. "Do you have a map?" Killua nodded, quirking an eyebrow. "Send it to me." Once she'd received the image, Aliara sent it to her blueprint app. It was a map, which made it easier than other pictures, so it only took a matter of seconds for her to get the image up on her projector. Killua's eyes widened but he watched her finish up as she grabbed two small finger caps and pressed them onto her thumb and her forefinger.

"So we're here," she said slowly, tapping a spot on the map projection with her finger. A red dot appeared. _I'll never get over how cool this is,_ she thought giddily. "It's best if we split up, so you probably want to head north and I can head south, and we can zigzag back to each other."

"We should attack at different times," Killua added, pointing to the nearest village on the map. "I'll take out the brainwashed soldier in my village, and as soon as I text you and tell you I'm done, you strike."

Aliara nodded. "So it looks like it could be the same person."

"We may as well vary it a bit," he agreed.

"Alright. So I'll go this way," the black-haired girl said, drawing her route in red. "And you can go this way?" She drew out Killua's route in blue by tapping a button on her phone.

He frowned. "What about that village?" He pointed to a small dot on the eastern side of the map.

Aliara nodded. "There's a bunch in that area, so maybe we could circle around and regroup around there." She clicked the tiny button on her hand and the projection vanished. The projector whirred and shut off.

"Okay." Killua turned to her and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "Stay safe," he murmured.

"I will," she promised, pressing herself against his chest and wishing she could stay there for the next nine days instead of trying to stop this selection. "You too."

And so they separated.

And Aliara ran.

* * *

Things were going smoothly (well, as smoothly as they could when you were trying to foil a mass murder operation) and Aliara and Killua's strategy was working well. Aliara would take down the brainwashed soldier in one village, then move on, and Killua would attack next. It was a back-and-forth operation that was quick and successful; they covered a lot of ground.

Aliara was dead exhausted, and she took a break behind a tree, leaning up against it for support. She flicked her phone on. "Killua," she managed, wiping sweat off her forehead, "how's it going?"

 _"Not good,"_ he replied, panting. _"There was a public appearance of Diego on television."_

Her eyes widened. "But he's dead."

 _"Puppets,"_ Killua explained, _"It's the Chimera ant's power."_

"Well, we're close to each other anyways," Aliara said tiredly, glancing around. "Want to meet up?"

 _"Sure,"_ he agreed, causing Aliara to smile with relief. She was going to see Killua soon! _"We'll meet at Luonton City."_

"Sounds good," she said, smiling despite her fatigue. "I'll see you soon."

They both hung up, and the black-haired girl started running again.

They'd been at this for about twenty four hours now without a break. Yes, Aliara could go for a couple days without sleep and still function properly, but this hardly counted. She hadn't gotten time to rest and it was draining her. But she'd meet up with Killua soon and it would all be fine.

She hadn't brought her backpack with her for obvious reasons. The only inventions she currently had were her shoes (plus the wristwatch that went with them) and her hand, not that she minded. Aliara had left her backpack for Kuro to pick up and she was sure that she could trust him. The thing that worried her most was Ano- Kuro had been trying to track him down with very little luck. He was fine, she was sure- but she couldn't help from worrying.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket again and she picked it up. "Killua?"

 _"I'm being hunted,"_ he said immediately. _"There's this ant flying in the sky and I can't reach it with my yo-yos."_

"What?"

 _"He's got me completely marked. I'm ducking in the jungle for cover,"_ Killua continued, his voice quiet and hard to hear. _"How far are you? I think they're onto me, I can sense a bunch of them."_

Aliara cursed under her breath. She glanced up in the general direction that Killua was supposed to be and was surprised to see something large buzzing around in the sky. "We're closer than I thought we were," she mused, smirking. "I can see him. You're in the nearby jungle?"

 _"Yeah."_

"On my way." Aliara hung up and grinned, changing course and running directly towards the Chimera ant.

She was still covered by small trees and bushes, and when she reached the edge of the area, she paused. She held up her hand and carefully aimed her small laser- she should be close enough to hit him- and fired.

The laser pierced the Chimera ant directly in the back, and it faltered, almost dropping out of the sky but managing to keep its altitude. Aliara smirked and fired again, tearing through its wing. A third laser beam made the creature fall; the loss of its wings prevented it from remaining in the air. Its wings fluttered feebly as it dropped, trying desperately to slow itself down.

Satisfied, Aliara took off towards the jungle. Within a minute she had crossed the desert area and made it to the trees, where she glanced around feverishly looking for Killua. "Killua," she called softly, spying several dead Chimera ants laying on the forest floor. Blood was spilled across the clearing. Obviously, Killua had been here, but he wasn't anymore.

She heard something behind her. Something loud and thunderous. Frowning, Aliara turned to see a huge orb crashing through the jungle with a Chimera ant running on top of it. It was cackling madly as it turned its head over its shoulder, "how'd you like-"

The black-haired girl cut him off, jumping to the tree and pushing off to propel herself at the end and slice its head off with her left hand. The ball of whatever it was kept rolling, gradually slowing down but still plowing through everything in its path.

"Ali," she heard, and Aliara looked up in relief to see Killua, tired but otherwise unharmed. His hair was blown back and he looked frazzled. She was about to stay something when he held up his hand, showing her a tiny flea. "There's a sniper."

As if on cue, there was a flash and something latched on to the side of Killua's temple. He gritted his teeth and tugged at the flea, causing a fresh wave of blood to fall from the new wound. "I got it," Aliara assured him, looking in the direction that the flea bullet had come from. "You take care of the rest of them."

"I'll join you soon," he said with a nod, and they both split up again. Aliara weaved between trees and hurdled over logs until she burst out of the jungle, pleased to see that she could see the sniper and she had judged the trajectory correctly. Well, she was off by a bit, but she could still see him. It was a lanky man holding some sort of gun that swelled up like a balloon at the back. Aliara zipped across the sand, kicking up dust behind her, and jumped to the pillar of rock that he was perched on.

To her surprise, he had anticipated her, and was standing by an open crevice that turned into darkness. "It's a trap," he said, narrowing his eyes at her. He turned and jumped into the opening. "You still want to come?"

Aliara didn't even hesitate- it was stupid of him to turn his back to her. She grabbed her head and twisted sharply, snapping his neck. "Don't turn your back on me," she hissed through her teeth, falling with the sniper into the darkness. Creepily enough, a tentacle shot out from the man's mouth. Another protruded from his head. Several came out from under the hat he was wearing, wrapping around her forearms and her legs. Aliara shook two off from her left arm, then looked down. Her eyes widened. _Shit._

The tunnel opened up into an underground lake, with several columns of rock shooting up from the water and attaching themselves to the ceiling. Aliara could've sworn that she saw ugly fish-like creatures with large jaws swimming in the water.

"Shit," she cursed, and she clicked open a compartment on her hand. A tiny blade popped up, and Aliara slashed the blade across the tentacles, effectively removing herself from the sniper's dead body.

She pushed herself off of him and pressed a button on her wristwatch, allowing large hooks to thrust out of the front of her shoes. She jammed the hook into the rock and it held. Grabbing one of the fallen tentacles, she noticed it had suction cups on the bottom, and she attached it to the rock for a better grip.

"Octopus?" she mused aloud, glancing at the tentacles. She raised her head to the other rock column, where an octopus was using his suction cups to hold onto the rock.

"How dare you cut off my tentacles?" the sea creature squeaked, his voice oddly high pitched. "The important legs of me, Ikalgo?!"

Aliara sighed and deadpanned, "I'm not exactly keen to fall in the water." Below her, the creatures snapped their jaws as if to illustrate her point. "I'd be fine but your octopus tentacles helped."

"Do _not,_ " the octopus howled, "call me an octopus!" His head swelled up and he fired a harpoon of some sort at her. Aliara easily dodged, twisting and letting the weapon fly by. To her chagrin, she hadn't noticed the creature take off. With a sigh, Aliara jumped and bounced off the rock pillars after him, easily grabbing the octopus by one tentacle and holding him upside down.

"Hello," she mused, grinning. "I wonder how you'd taste if we deep fried you."

She got the reaction she was hoping for- the octopus squeaked out its complaints and protests, trying to find something to hold on to or use as a weapon and failing.

"I've tried octopus before," Aliara continued, swinging Ikalgo- that's what he said he name was, right?- above the water, watching the hungry creatures snap their jaws below them. "I kinda like the taste." It was a bluff- she actually hated octopus. Her mother had ordered it for them once for a dinner and the only ones who actually liked it were Iyami and Libro. Then again, Libro would eat anything.

"Let me go!" he demanded, glaring at her with large white eyes.

She cocked her head. "Are you sure? I think your friends are a bit hungry." His face paled and her theory was confirmed- the creatures went after whatever was in the water if there was blood, regardless of who it was. They were snapping up the fallen tentacles without a second thought. "Mhmm. That's what I thought."

The octopus's face scrunched up. "No, we're still fighting!"

Aliara frowned, raising an eyebrow. "What?" It dawned on her. "Oh, telepathy or something. Cool. Is it the guy who flies around? With the ugly bug eyes? I thought I shot him down, I guess I should've tried to kill him."

"N- No!" Ikalgo stuttered, obviously confused. "I mean, well- no- I mean- you're not wrong, but- but you're not right-"

"Tell me his ability," she interrupted.

He paused.

"It's obviously not just the fact he can fly," Aliara forged on, dangling the octopus and thinking about how the sniper was able to track Killua in the middle of a jungle, "because he seems to know exactly where we are without being near. Some Chimera ants have nen, he's probably one of them. What's his ability?"

"I won't say," Ikalgo said firmly.

She softened and cursed herself. "I'll drop you," she said, but her heart wasn't in it. It was the unwavering determination in Ikalgo's eyes that convinced her- he wasn't going to tell her anything. He was willing to die for... for a Chimera ant? Aliara was willing to bet her mechanical hand that the other ants hadn't done anything for him, either.

"I am not," he declared, "selling out my comrades. I hope I'm reborn as a squid."

The last comment was kind of random but Aliara just sighed and tossed him at a rocky shore, where he bounced off his head and propped himself up. He regarded her with wide eyes, unsure of what to say, and Aliara nearly blushed. "What? Don't make me regret it. You're a good guy. Or... octopus. Whatever."

"You think I'm good?" Ikalgo whispered, shocked.

Aliara shrugged. "I would've sold out my family without a second thought. You were ready to die. I can't kill you for that."

There was a splash and a giant fish leaped out of the water. Aliara jumped, using her shoe-picks to attach herself to a different rock pillar as the creature's teeth closed around the area she had just been. She turned her palm towards the fish, flicked a switch, and fired, taking the fish out and letting its carcass fall back to the water, where it was quickly devoured.

She didn't even notice the tiny fish-thing attach a tag to the back of her t-shirt.

The black-haired girl made her way across the cavern to the shore, where she touched down on the ground and huffed, wiping sweat off her forehead. This was too much for one day. Where was Killua?

About half a minute later, she saw a flash and almost grinned. Killua had come through the cavern entrance and silently landed on the shore, about twenty feet away from her. She waved at him and touched a finger to her lips, and he nodded. There could still be more enemies-

There was a ringing in her head.

The black-haired girl's lips parted, and her hands went to the sides of her head. It was literally a ringtone. "Ringing?" she whispered, eyes flashing to Killua.

A fish pierced the back of her hand.

Aliara cried out. A long swordfish, easily two feet, had stabbed into the back of her hand out of nowhere. There was no presence, no nen, no energy to even sense. Where the hell did it come from? Killua was at her side immediately, still silent but confused.

Another fish stabbed her in the chest. "Shit," she cursed, stumbling, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Killua grabbed the fish from the back of her hand and tugged it out, and she did the same for the one in her chest. "How can I not sense them?" she murmured, trying to relay all the information she could to Killua without giving them away.

The unsaid question hung in the air. _Why her and not Killua?_

So the enemy could probably hear her but not see her. That made sense, because otherwise Killua would be attacked too.

A third nen fish appeared in her chest. Aliara coughed, tugging the fish away. She looked down at herself and realized she looked like a dart board- black and white and with the center being the middle of her chest. "Darts?" she whispered, looking frantically at Killua. They played darts at her house but she remembered nothing.

Killua nodded at her.

 _"Can you hear me? I'm speaking directly into your head."_

Aliara pressed her hands against her head. "In my head?" she murmured, but the white-haired boy understood. They both tensed, ready for the next attack.

 _"If you're still alive, you'll know soon enough."_

Another fish in her shoulder. Two more, one on each thigh.

Aliara nearly stumbled. The fish all vanished at the same time, and three new ones took their place. Killua had stepped back, watching carefully as to where all the fish were landing, studying her. The black-haired girl was doing her best just to stay standing.

 _"My darts don't have a physical form until they pierce your body, making them undetectable,"_ the voice trilled, and Aliara winced as another dart pierced her left shoulder. _"By the way, the left shoulder is fifty four points."_

"Left shoulder," she grunted, turning to Killua. "Fifty four points."

 _"For example, the right elbow is twenty seven points."_

The dart manifested in her elbow and she hissed, "twenty seven."

 _"Oh, you think counting will help you?"_ Yep, he could definitely hear her. _"I'm afraid not. I haven't heard you scream yet."_

The onslaught of darts was unbearable. Aliara couldn't stand without her head swaying. She was bleeding in too many places and she was getting dizzy from blood loss. Another fish pierced her chest and she cried out, falling backwards. Killua was behind her, catching her before she fell. "I know this game," he murmured, so quiet she almost missed it. "Just hold on. Please."

The black-haired girl nodded, then screamed again as another fish hit her- in the ear. Why didn't Killua just run off? The creature with this ability was probably near. No doubt Killua could kill it easily, if this was its only ability.

"Do you trust me?" he whispered, and he let her sit awkwardly on the ground.

She nodded. It was all she could manage.

Another fish hit her in the back of the leg. "With your life?"

She nodded again. Killua released his aura, covering her and himself with his aura that crackled menacingly of electricity. Aliara felt tingles up and down her arms and legs as his nen covered the both of them. Killua held his breath, then placed his hand on her forehead. His hands were oddly warm, Aliara noticed, which was a silly thing to notice when you're bleeding out and about to die.

She shut her eyes.

Something pierced her forehead- dangerously close to her brain- and was plucked out again before it could bury itself too deep. Aliara opened her eyes- Killua was panting, clutching the fish in his hands, tiny sparks of electricity hitting the air around him. "They'll come to check out the dead body," he murmured, "hide." Aliara nodded, stumbling to her feet and touching the center of her forehead gingerly like it was a dream. Killua had grabbed the fish as soon as it pierced her skull? That was insane. And how did he know where it was going to be?

Dead tired and dizzy, Aliara hoisted herself up a rock column and perched herself high enough that she couldn't be seen easily. Killua was a couple meters away, his blue eyes darting dangerously around the area. Sure enough, two fish-like humans emerged, scouting the area for their victim.

"Where is she?" the female one mused, glaring at the male.

He shrugged. "We could hear her fine, this is where she was."

"There's a lot of blood," the female noticed, pointing to the area where Aliara had been. "What if-"

She never really got to finish her sentence because Aliara and Killua zoomed out of nowhere, taking off their heads with one blow. Aliara huffed in exhaustion, shaking the excess blood off her left hand. "It was a double out," the white-haired boy mused, kicking the head of one of the Chimera ant (fish?) away. "You had to hit a double twenty to finish, right? So we knew where the dart would go."

"I thought there was only supposed to be one of them!" one head shrieked, glaring fiercely at the other head. "Why are there two?"

"He never mentioned there were two!" the second head defended.

Killua sighed, shaking his head, and turned to Aliara. "Are you good?"

She forced herself to nod. "Yeah. Thank you."

The white-haired boy pulled her shoulders lightly and hugged her, keeping his grip loose. "I..." he sighed. "I honestly thought you might die."

Aliara laughed dryly. Killua, during that entire escapade, had never once shown any sign of unnecessary emotion or made any noise. She wasn't surprised- he probably did it to maximize his skill as an assassin. If he let even a little bit of emotion seep in and show, it would've made her panic and it probably could've clouded his judgement or impaired his skill. "I would've," she said, leaning heavily against him, "if it wasn't for you."

He hugged her tighter. "You would've done the same for me."

"I don't know anything about darts," she confessed, and he chuckled and pulled back. Her eyes scanned him and she sighed. "Sorry, I got blood all over you."

Killua shrugged, offering her a half-smirk. "I'll survive. Are you sure you're okay? That's a lot of blood."

"Yeah," she said breathlessly, her head spinning. "Y..."

Aliara tried to take a step forward and stumbled, sinking to her knees. Was all of this really her blood? "Huh," she mumbled, coughing and spitting blood onto the ground, "is this really all mine?" The pool of blood around her was dark crimson. Interesting. Aliara tried to stand and found she couldn't; instead, she fell on her back. "Killua," she wheezed, "I can't..."

"Shit," Killua cursed, leaning down next to her. "Shit! Ali, come on, how much blood have you lost?"

She almost laughed. Aliara blinked rapidly, trying to clear her blurry vision. "I can't move," she mumbled, her body feeling colder by the second. "Everything's blurry..."

The white-haired boy ripped off the bottom half of her t-shirt, exposing the area that the fish had punctured repeatedly in her chest. Killua cursed and pressed the ripped cloth against the wound. "Ali," he said softly, struggling to keep his voice calm, "I need you to stay with me, okay?"

She tried to nod. It didn't work. "Cold..." she murmured.

Her eyes fluttered shut- it was too much effort to keep them open. "Aliara!" Killua cried out, but his words were just a dull buzz. Wherever he was touching her felt alive with heat. He was oddly warm.

Aliara slipped into unconsciousness, cold and warm at the same time.

* * *

 **Happy birthday to me! I am officially 17 (as of two days ago... when I was writing this it was my birthday, but I had to edit, so it's a bit late)**

 **Extra long chapter! Look at me go :)**

 **So after reading your reviews I've learned a lot about how Chimera Ants are actually supposed to die! Thank you all for being patient with me and pointing these things out kindly rather than rudely.**

 **Many thanks to _xenocanaan, supboyyyyy93, Ploy, Sagereader, Guest, KilluaKagura, Oof,_ and _Coonchitaa_ for your lovely reviews! Thank you all so much! :D**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this action-packed chapter! Let me know what you thought! :)**


	75. Plan

**Chapter** **75: Plan**

Aliara tried to open her eyes, but the light burned like hell, so she chose to relax a bit longer instead.

Until she remembered everything that had happened and the fish darts and Killua and the octopus and her eyes shot open, suddenly oblivious to the light, and she sat up abruptly and blinked rapidly as she tried to focus.

"Ali! How're you feeling?"

Her ears comprehended the voice as Killua's, but her eyes wouldn't adjust fast enough to actually _see_ him. "Killua?" she murmured, blinking. The light was fading now, and she could see Killua sitting on her left, holding onto her hand. Aliara squeezed his hand lightly and he squeezed back, almost as if confirming that she was actually awake. "How long have I been asleep?" she said, yawning.

He seemed to hesitate before he said, "two days."

Well, _now_ she was definitely awake. "Two days?" Aliara gasped, turning towards him. "We have to go! We-"

"Hey. Calm down," Killua soothed, rubbing his thumbs over the back of her hand. The black-haired girl paused, her panic momentarily depleting, and she finally took a good look at herself. She was sitting in a hospital bed, with something hooked up from her chest to a fluid bag hanging from a cart. There were multiple hospital beds, not just hers, all lined up with people of varying degrees of health in each one.

She looked down at herself. Someone had dressed her in a hospital gown, and she had bandages almost everywhere- up her arms, down her legs and calves, wrapped repeatedly around her feet. She reached her hand up to feel her head to see if there were bandages there, but...

 _Shit._ Where the hell was her hand?!

Killua must've felt her panicking again, because his grip on her hand tightened. "It's okay! I've got your shoes and your hand. I just didn't want them to confiscate anything."

Aliara swallowed hard, glancing at her amputated wrist which was covered by the metal cap. "You figured out how to take it off?" she asked hollowly, feeling a little bit lost and anxious without her hand.

"It took a bit of fiddling with," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand, "but I got it. It's not broken, I promise."

"Okay. Good." Aliara sighed, trying to force herself to relax. "Wait, where are we?"

Killua shrugged. "An underground hospital of sorts, I think. You passed out and this octopus showed up and told me about this place, then showed me the way. I carried you all the way here."

The black-haired girl nodded slowly, then frowned. "The octopus?"

"I am _not_ an octopus!" someone howled from across the room, and Aliara and Killua both looked at each other and chuckled. The octopus had showed Killua the way here, and then had stayed? Why would he do that?

"He actually saved me," Aliara mused, shaking her head. "Why would he..."

Killua shrugged. "He said you were cool."

"Oh." The black-haired girl sighed, then pushed herself off the bed. "Come on, let's get going."

"Only if you're fully healed," the white-haired boy said firmly, almost glaring at her. "I'm not letting you run off if you're still injured. You lost a hell of a lot of blood. We'll get one of the nurses to check over you, and if they say you're good, then we can go."

Aliara huffed, sitting back down. The octopus chose this time to wander over to them, dressed in a toque and jacket. "How're you feeling?" he asked, cocking his round head.

She frowned. "Impatient. Where's the nurse? I want to get out of here."

Ikalgo's eyes bugged out of his head. "There's no way you can leave! You still have to rest! At least a few more days-"

"Oh, you're awake. Good!" A tiny, stout lady with short black hair and slanted eyes made her way over to Aliara and Killua, wearing a long hospital gown and a matching cap. Aliara raised an eyebrow at her. "You don't need a grave if you die here in the Underground Hospital," she said cheerily, "because your skin, bones, and organs all get sold. Nothing to put in a coffin."

"I'll pass," Aliara said firmly, glancing awkwardly at Killua. "Can I leave?"

"Expenses-"

"Already covered," Killua interrupted, raising his eyebrows.

The lady paused. "Oh. I see. You're the one who-"

"Yes," Killua repeated, his voice carefully neutral, "I covered it."

Aliara shot him a quizzical look before turning back to the nurse, who unhooked the fluid bag from her chest and detached several suction cups from her wrists and neck. "Can you stand up for me?" she asked, and Aliara hopped up off the bed. The nurse frowned and undid some of her bandages on her arms, then some on her legs, then sighed. "There was one really bad injury over your rib cage," the nurse continued. "Can you show me?"

She hadn't even realized. Aliara checked to make sure she had something on underneath (sure enough, she had her trusty sports bra) so she undid the robe and glanced down. There was a large square bandage in the center of her chest that the nurse carefully removed.

"That's insane," the nurse said with a sigh, shaking her head. "You're not human. There's no way that you could heal that quickly."

"I don't care if you think I'm an alien," Aliara said tiredly, closing her robe. "Can I go?"

"Yes, you can leave whenever. Just make sure to re-wrap those bandages, at least for a day."

That was all Aliara needed. She closed her robe again, turned to Killua, and grinned. "Where's my stuff?" Killua smirked and tossed her a small duffel bag- apparently he never left her stuff unattended, aw- and Aliara mustered up a smile for the nurse. "Thanks." She turned to the octopus and smiled genuinely for him. "Thank you to you too. You saved my life."

Ikalgo was speechless. "How are you healed?..."

"Alien, remember?" Aliara rolled her eyes and dug through the duffel bag, pulling out her track pants which she slipped on (hidden by the safety of her robe, thank goodness) and dug around again until she found her t-shirt, blood-stained and torn apart. Shrugging, Aliara took off the robe and pulled the shirt over her head. "Ready?"

"Yup," Killua agreed, cracking his knuckles. "Let's go."

Her voice softened. "Thanks for waiting for me."

"Would do it again in a heartbeat," he replied immediately, smiling softly at her. Aliara smiled back, her heart warm. He turned around and raised his eyebrows. "You coming?"

Aliara followed his gaze and her eyes settled on Ikalgo, who was staring at them with stars in his eyes. "W... What?" he croaked.

Her eyes widened. "Yeah! You can meet Gon. He'd like you."

"Ah..." the octopus's eyes trailed down to study the floor. "But..."

Killua shrugged, "fine, then don't come."

Aliara added, "please? We want you to come." Killua shot her a look and she shrugged.

"Are you sure it's okay?" the tiny creature murmured, his eyes frantic. "Someone like me?"

"What's so bad about 'someone like you'?" Aliara said with a scoff, rolling her eyes. "We wouldn't be asking you if you wanted to come with us if we thought that you weren't a good person. Or... octopus. Whatever."

The creature's eyes watered, and he nodded fiercely and stepped forwards. "I... I'll come!"

"Can we get going, then?" Killua mused, and the black-haired girl grinned at him before they started running.

They had a job to do, and five days to do it.

* * *

It took them three days of non-stop moving to make it back to Gon.

Killua had told her that he'd got in contact with the dark-haired boy- the selection was moving as planned and they had a battle strategy now. He shared with her that in the last couple cities he'd been to, his work had been ineffective- people had chosen to believe their leader Diego, a puppet controlled by Neferpitou, which was understandable yet incorrect. Diego was dead but the public had no way of knowing, not when he was appearing on screen and looking well and alive.

Their attempt to take down the brainwashed soldiers and evacuate the cities was thwarted. So, they were going to go back to Gon.

All it took was a few quick introductions- there was a Chimera Ant named Meleoron or something and he was on their side and a crucial part of their plan- before the group got comfortable again. Gon immediately squabbled over Aliara's bandages, but after she told him what happened, he calmed down (scolded her a bit for being reckless) and told her the plan.

"Knov," Gon started, whom Aliara remembered as the man in the black suit, "has entered the palace and planted a teleportation zone where we can get right to the stairs by the King's throne room. I don't really know where that is but we'll figure it out as we go-"

"I got this," Aliara interrupted, holding out her right hand, palm up. She turned on her projector and it whirred to life, buzzing softly. Aliara had the eyes of Killua, Morel, Gon, Ikalgo, and Meleoron on her but it didn't really bother her- she knew what she was doing. Opening her phone, Aliara accessed the blueprint app and tapped on the design for the Eat Gorteau palace. A holographic image of the palace popped up, and Aliara beamed at its success as she slipped on her tiny finger pads.

"So the entrance is here," she mused, tapping the front door. She zoomed in and past the outside of the palace, into the main entrance room. "Where are we popping in?"

Morel took a second to find his words. "Second floor."

Aliara scrolled up and to the second floor, weaving through a hallway until she found a staircase that resembled the one Gon was talking about. "Right here?" she asked, and Morel nodded. She selected a function on her phone and drew a red circle into the hologram. "Alright. Is that better for a visual?"

"Ali, that's incredible," Gon breathed, poking his finger at the hologram. His finger passed right through.

"That's an incredible bit of technology," Morel admitted, his sunglasses hiding his eyes. "Where did you... Where did you get it?"

Aliara swelled with pride a bit as she said, "I made it myself."

The older man nodded slowly, and he actually removed his sunglasses to study her diagrams better. "That's well done."

"Thank you," she beamed.

Morel nodded, leaning back. "We'll meet up with Knuckle and Shoot tomorrow. We have two days."

Two days until hell.

Aliara felt dread build up inside her like a bottle filling up with water. Why did she have such a bad feeling about this?

* * *

 ** _Siera-Knightwalker:_ Gah, I knew I'd have to answer this one day. I had to make a choice when I started this story whether I wanted my OC to be on the same level as Killua and Gon, above, or slightly below. Honestly, I thought it'd be an insult to Killua and Gon if I put her above or even on the same level. Killua is a child prodigy, and Gon is a miracle child. They're both insanely talented for their age and get their skills based on where they grew up.**

 **Ali is different. She gets where she wants to go with hard work and a bit of creative thinking. Not to say there isn't any skill involved, because she _is_ talented and intelligent, but she hasn't had as much training as Killua or grown up in the same environment as Gon. To make her equal to them is kinda of boring, honestly- she has something to strive for and something to achieve.**

 **I'm sorry about how long this is and I hope it makes sense in some way :)**

 **Anyways: Huge thank yous to _YourHomeGirlJen, Eliza211, supboyyyyy93, TheAngelicPyro, IAmAmazing326, Guest (x2), Keep Calm and Be Ninja (your review made me so happy, thank you), Oof, KilluaKagura,_ and _Siera-Knightwalker_ for the lovely reviews and birthday wishes! Thank you all so much! ^^**

 **I hope you all are having an amazing summer!**

 **...and say your prayers. Next chapter's going to be HELL.**


	76. Hell

**Chapter** **76: Hell**

"Ready to go soon?" Aliara asked quietly, and the two boys both nodded in confirmation.

They were sitting in a large white room- part of Knov's nen ability, apparently. They could exit from the room to any portal he had already set aside, which would allow them to enter the palace quickly. Aliara was prepared well enough, but she felt nervous- this was going to be a dangerous battle.

Killua seemed to be doing okay. He was physically and mentally prepared, and Aliara could see it in his eyes. However, he'd glance at Gon and get a faraway look in his eyes, like their dark-haired friend was fragile and breakable but there was nothing they could do about it.

It seemed to be the contrary when she studied Gon: he was filled with determination and confidence and he was ready to kill Neferpitou. Every once in a while, he'd murmur under his breath (something that sounded kind of like 'Kite') and his eyes would glaze over, filled with blood lust and frustration. He was the one that Aliara was the most worried about. She didn't doubt that he'd be able to handle himself physically, but she was worried more for the mental aspect.

"Seven minutes until we break in," Shoot murmured, glancing at the doorway.

She tapped Killua on the shoulder gently. "Should we talk to him?"

Killua looked up. "You mean Gon? Why?"

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed," she muttered, frowning at him.

He sighed, rubbing his temple. "I've noticed. He seems less and less like himself every day. It's like thoughts of Kite are... _consuming_ him."

"What should we do?"

"What _can_ we do?" Killua said, resting his chin on his palm. "Nothing we can say will help. He's going to deal with it on his own."

Aliara almost couldn't believe it. "He's our best friend. We should try." When Killua said nothing, Aliara sighed, something akin to disappointment in her eyes, and she turned towards Gon, who was chatting with Ikalgo. The octopus (or whatever he referred to himself as) seemed to be fitting into the group quite nicely, and he had a good heart. He was a good addition. "Hey, Gon, Ikalgo," Aliara said, sitting herself down next to Gon. "Ikalgo, can we have a minute?"

Their new ally seemed confused, but he nodded and moved to sit with Killua. Gon smiled softly at Aliara and asked, "What's up?"

"Are you okay?" Aliara whispered, glancing at the door and back to Gon.

The dark-haired boy cocked his head. "What'd you mean?"

"You don't seem like yourself," she started, trying to figure out how to best word this, "I mean, you just... You're drifting off. You know you can talk to us, right?"

Gon beamed. "Yeah, for sure."

Aliara shook her head. "But... I just..." she huffed. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"Same with me," the boy agreed, nodding his head. "You and Killua mean a lot to me."

"Well, uh..." she cursed under her breath as she tried to figure out how to convey her feelings. "Well, don't do anything stupid. Okay? Promise me you'll think about what you're going to do before you do it. Use your head."

Gon kind of laughed, tucking his knees up to his chest. "That's a weird request."

"Promise me," Aliara insisted, the light tone suddenly gone from her voice and replaced with dead seriousness. "Don't do anything reckless."

The dark-haired boy paused mid-laugh, regarding her carefully before he nodded. "Yeah. I promise."

Aliara sighed, shaking her head. "I suppose that's all I can get you to do. Be safe, buddy." She wrapped her arms around him and he hugged her back, and she was relieved when he smiled at her. Morel called them up to the door (one minute until they broke in!) and the black-haired girl was surprised and upset to see how quickly Gon's eyes went from kind and cheerful to dark and cold.

"Ten," Morel said heavily, starting the count down. "Nine."

Aliara felt Killua grab her left hand. She squeezed his hand briefly and he squeezed back, and he smiled at her when they made eye contact.

"Eight."

They would both make it through this. Alive.

"Seven."

And Gon. The poor boy looked further and further away every time she glanced at him.

"Six. Five. Four."

Suddenly Aliara wasn't sure this was a good idea. Was she prepared enough?

"Three."

Too late now, she supposed.

"Two."

She was ready.

"One!"

Aliara tensed.

"Go!"

She sprang through the door, right behind Killua and Gon, and was amazed to see herself directly inside the palace. Shoot, Morel, and Ikalgo all burst forward with Knuckle, whom none of them could see- he had Meleoron on his back, and the Chimera ant had a delightful ability to turn himself and others invisible. To her right was a large set of stairs, and everywhere else had long corridors and fancy rooms that Aliara had to ignore. Sitting on the stairs, completely shocked by their sudden arrival, was a monstrous Chimera ant. He was dark red in colour and had black shorts on. He narrowed his eyes on them and tensed up.

The Chimera ant- was this the one that they called Yupi?- suddenly sprouted an extra four arms that seemed to be even longer than his original two arms. They protruded from his back and hung forward, but before he could strike, the unimaginable happened.

Something dropped through the palace roof. Actually, multiple somethings dropped through the roof- brilliant dragons made of light that let nothing get in their way. They looked almost like arrows.

Aliara momentarily froze. Killua cursed under his breath. Everyone seemed to stop moving temporarily- except for Yupi and Gon. The black-haired girl cursed and sped after Gon- even though Yupi wasn't theirs to fight, on the off chance that Knuckle and Meloreon had been struck by the dragons, someone needed to fight Yupi instead.

They were saved from having to do so when Yupi was suddenly thrown to the left, as if hit by an invisible punch. _Knuckle and Meleoron. They're alive._

"Go!" Killua shouted in her ear, and she didn't need to be told twice. Aliara bolted up the stairs, neck and neck with Gon and Killua, desperate to get past Yupi. She sensed a swell of aura behind her and leaped forward as the monster struck the staircase with a monstrous fist, destroying the structure easily. Alive and relatively unscathed, Aliara rolled and sprang to her feet, running after Gon and Killua.

Pitou was their target. How would they find Pitou?

To be completely honest, they probably had a higher chance of the Chimera ant finding _them._

Aliara leaped out of one of the palace's windows to land on the roof, sprinting along into it until she saw where she needed to be and she dove again. She broke through the glass surrounding the window and landed easily, followed by Gon and Killua. They took turns leading, she realized: it was so natural that it felt like they'd be a team since childhood rather than a year and a half.

They broke out from the corridor to a balcony, and Aliara's eyes were immediately drawn upwards. "There," she mumbled under her breath as she glanced up at the central tower, a cylinder-like structure with multiple fancy windows and ledges. Smoke was pouring out of the windows and openings, which told the trio all they needed to know. Morel was there.

Gon moved first, dashing to the right. Killua and Aliara were right behind him. The boy suddenly halted and Aliara forced herself to stop, almost colliding with Killua. "What..." she trailed off when she realized why they stopped.

The Chimera ant king was straight ahead.

Followed by the president, Netero, and another short, silver-haired man that wore purple.

"Grandpa," Killua muttered under his breath, and Aliara almost laughed. She could really see the resemblance.

Netero saw them and smirked. He jerked his thumb behind him, which was enough of a signal. Aliara almost flinched when Gon's aura flared up like a white-hot flame, dangerous and wild. "Pitou's over there," Gon snarled, "let's go."

He leaped, taking off in the direction Netero had pointed out. Aliara glanced briefly at Killua, desperation laced all over her face, and she noticed that Killua looked as sad as she felt. "We'll save him," Killua promised, starting to run after Gon.

From himself?

Despite Gon's head start, the trio made it to where the president was at the same time, their footsteps echoing off the ground. Killua's grandfather was there, with his arms behind his back. He raised an eyebrow at them. "Yo."

Aliara frowned. _That_ was how he greeted them?

Killua stiffened considerably. His grandfather continued, "my job here is finished. Whatever happens now is of no concern to me. Judge what's happened inside for yourself." He stared at Aliara and she felt chills down her spine, but she glared right back at him. He seemed to hold his gaze for a bit too long before he grunted, "huh," and shuffled off.

"What does he mean by that?" Killua muttered, glancing at the room he had come from. Aliara was still too frazzled by their stare-down to realize what Killua was talking about.

 _Judge what's happened inside for yourself._

Aliara trailed after Gon as the boy marched into the ruined room with a killing intent in his eyes as Aliara tried to decipher what the old man meant by that. She figured it out pretty quickly when she saw the ant that they were supposed to kill- a cat-like Chimera ant, Pitou- hunched over a small human girl. There was a large creature hulking over her made entirely of nen, and it seemed to be... healing her?

Was the human hurt in the explosion with all the diving dragons? Why would a Chimera ant care enough to heal a human? Why was there even a girl in here anyways?

Gon's aura swelled to massive proportions, prompting Aliara to take a small step back. "Do you remember me?" he growled, and the creature finally looked up, regarding the trio with cat-like eyes. Gon's aura practically exploded- it felt suffocating. "I am Gon Freecss!" her best friend howled, clenching his fists. "In order to bring Kite back, I've come to you!"

 _This isn't all about Kite, Gon,_ Aliara wanted to say, anything to get him back on the right track- the sane track. This was about saving millions of lives from the selection. _Gon. Listen._

The cat-like creature shifted, but it wasn't to a fighting stance. It had barely any aura surrounding it, and its stance was like a mother protecting a child. Aliara's throat tightened- it was prepared to protect this human girl with its life. _Why?..._

If these Chimera ants lived to serve the king, that meant that this was on the king's orders. Probably.

What value did the girl have to the king?

Gon stalked forwards, his anger evident in his nen. "Get away from her," he growled, swiping a hand through the air in a clear gesture to leave. "Get away!"

To Aliara's surprise, the ant lay its hands- paws?- out, palm up, and ducked its head in an obviously submissive gesture. "Please wait," the royal guard said, its voice dark and haunted. "Please."

Gon didn't seem to care. "Get serious! What do you want me to wait for? Stand! Let's go outside!"

Aliara had never seen him this angry.

"Gon-" Killua started, stepping forwards.

"Anything!" the ant yelped, its eyes darting frantically to meet Gon's. "I'll do anything you say. Just... Please wait." It seemed to pause, glancing from the girl it was healing behind her and back to Gon. "I absolutely must save this human."

She was disgusted by the way it said 'human'- like their species was below its own. Like humans were weak creatures, like they were toys.

"Anything?" Killua asked, moving forwards again. "By anything, do you mean-"

"Killua," Gon snapped, "I'm doing the talking here."

The white-haired boy shut his mouth immediately. Aliara could've cried. What happened to Gon?

"This human," the Chimera ant said slowly, carefully, "is of importance to one who is important to me. If this human dies... his majesty will no longer be his majesty. If it's to that extent, I must save her... I must... After I have finished healing her, I will do as you say."

"Gon," Aliara started. "Let's-"

"Selfish," the dark-haired boy interrupted. "How can you say something so selfish? Who the hell would listen to what you have to say?"

"Gon," she repeated, her voice more firm, "let's wait. She was probably injured by that attack earlier-"

"Gramps' Dragon Dive," Killua added, meeting Aliara's eyes for a fleeting second.

She nodded, thankful for his input. "Which means that it's probably telling the truth. It's healing her. We should wait until it's finished." Personally, Aliara kind of wanted to go and attack the ant now, while it had another objective and they would have a clear advantage. But this was her chance to make Gon relax a bit and wait, maybe to calm him down a bit.

"Why?" Gon snarled, rounding on Aliara. "After it's done what it's doing, is it even going to listen to me? Probably and maybe aren't good enough! Are you serious?!"

"Gon!" Killua snapped, stepping between him and Aliara, "what-"

"Give me a _break!"_ the boy howled, his eyes flashing with intense anger, "get real! Have you gone nuts?! Saying that we should believe the words of this... this creature?! How can we?!"

There was a crunch. Behind Gon, Pitou had ripped off its left arm from the wrist up. Aliara almost gagged. "If you desire," it said, looking up with its hair falling in its eyes, "you may also have my right. And my legs, if that isn't enough. If, after the healing is finished, you feel that I am acting even slightly suspicious, as long as it does not impede her healing, you may destroy me.

"I am begging you," it continued, "please let me save her."

Aliara saw more emotion crossing Gon's face than she had in the last week. The boy had never looked so confused and so angry at the same time. "Don't you dare mess around with me," Gon growled, shifting his stance into an attacking one and pressing his hand to his hip. "First is-"

"Gon!" Killua cried out suddenly.

"If you kill it," the black-haired girl threw in immediately, trying to think of anything that could stop Gon from killing this ant, "you can't bring Kite back."

Gon stopped.

His aura temporarily ceased.

"Must be nice," he croaked, his hands falling to his side, "Aliara. To be so cool like that. And Killua too. Since this means nothing to you."

Aliara reeled back like she'd been slapped. Killua put his hand on her shoulder. "How long will it take to heal her?" Gon growled, his attention back on the ant. When Pitou answered that one hour would be needed to heal the critical wounds, Gon snapped, "Fine. I'll wait here for an hour."

He sat down, and Aliara and Killua left.

They ran, out of the room and off the palace roof and leaped down to the courtyard in sync. Aliara immediately pressed her back to the palace wall and choked back a sob, clapping her hand over her mouth. "Gon..." she started, glancing desperately at Killua, who was right beside her.

He frowned slightly and he pressed his finger against her cheek, wiping away a lone tear that had fallen down her face. "We focus on helping the others for now," he said heavily, and Aliara nodded, furious with herself.

They didn't even have to move before they ran into Meleoron, who was currently visible and moving without his ability, God's Accomplice. "Knuckle and Shoot have it bad," the chameleon-like Chimera ant reported, his eyes bulging from his head oddly, "Shoot is out and Knuckle is trying to take on Yupi alone. We have to help them."

There was a cannon-like boom from two hundred meters away, near an open courtyard. Aliara guessed that Yupi was there. "Okay," she said easily, glad to have something else to focus on. Her hands flew to her head and she tightened her ponytail. "Do we have a plan?"

"I have an idea," Killua said slowly. "It'll depend a lot on Meleoron."

Aliara nodded.

At least they had _something._

* * *

It didn't take long to find Yupi- he was standing in the center of a giant crater. By the time they'd gotten there, Knuckle was flying at the Chimera ant with his fist raised as the creepy creature seemed eager to intercept him. Killua launched into his plan right away, throwing Meleoron on his back and running at Yupi.

Aliara activated her zetsu and hid herself behind a discarded piece of palace wall. Killua would strike Yupi, then return to Aliara and Meleoron would switch over. Killua had said, "I have a new ability so I think I can handle Yupi, but I can only use it for so long." So Aliara had to trust that Killua could handle Yupi.

Meanwhile, she'd hit Yupi from behind, which would give Killua enough distraction time to escape and she'd have to catch up with him so Meleoron could grab on and they could all escape.

At least, that was how it was supposed to go. The waiting was agony, but she couldn't risk looking out at the current situation without attracting Yupi's attention. Aliara bit her lip impatiently.

She felt a tap on her shoulder, and suddenly Meleoron was right next to her. He nodded to her, his lips pursed in order to hold his breath, and he jumped up on her back. Aliara zipped out into the clearing to see Killua facing off with Yupi, his hair almost standing on end. Electricity? Probably.

Their battle was so fast that Aliara's eyes couldn't keep up. More like, Yupi couldn't keep up with Killua. Killua's attacks were fierce and powerful, and Aliara zipped into the crater with Meleoron on her back. He gave her a thumbs up, his cheeks puffed with air. Killua stopped his attack rather suddenly- his ability must be done.

Aliara summoned her nen, surrounding her fist with white-hot flames, and punched Yupi in the back.

The blow was strong enough to force him forwards. As Yupi whipped around, angered, Aliara saw Killua zooming out of the crater. She tore off after him, Meleoron clinging onto her shoulders. When they got close enough, Meleoron put his hand on Killua, and not a moment too soon: Yupi came out of the crater, glaring left and right for his enemies.

"Dammit," the red creature snarled angrily. Killua looked at her and smirked, and she smirked back. Knuckle was safe, for now.

They went as far away from Yupi as they could get with Meleoron still holding his breath, and then the chameleon released. "Good job," Aliara praised, beaming at the white-haired boy. "What ability was that?"

Killua grinned. "I call it Whirlwind. I actually got the idea after grabbing that fish dart from your forehead."

"Whirlwind," the black-haired girl echoed. "I don't name any of my stuff. Maybe I should."

He laughed softly. "Yeah, you-"

They both glanced up and pressed against the palace wall instinctively as a Chimera ant soared overhead. It seemed to be a man with light purple skin and wings like a butterfly, and he was carrying Morel's pipe. "Is that-"

"Yeah," he replied with a sigh. "Morel's pipe. He needs that to attack."

"I'll get it," Aliara said. "He's a strong fighter."

"I'll charge up and meet you soon," Killua agreed, pulling out a cord from his pocket. "I used all my electricity. I need to find an outlet."

The black-haired girl grinned. "Wait, I've got this." She brought her left hand up to her robotic hand and flipped open a hatch on the back of her hand. There was an outlet. "Ta da," she said cheerily.

"That's crazy," Meleoron said with a shake of his head.

Killua laughed. "You really do think of everything." He pushed the plug of the cord into the outlet and gripped the other end of the cord. Aliara felt a tingle as Killua started charging electricity, from her hand- how odd.

"I was thinking of things to add, and I thought of your electricity," Aliara explained, flushing. "Because I know you need to charge up."

Killua looked like he could've kissed her right then and there. "You're brilliant."

"I'm also late," she remarked, watching the butterfly man fly out of view. "Here, I'll be back."

"How am I supposed to-"

Aliara pressed two buttons on the base of her metal hand and twisted. The hand popped off with a tug, and the fingers fell limp with nothing to control them. She tossed it to him and he caught it in his spare hand. "Be back."

The black-haired girl ran off, activating her zetsu and running in the direction that the butterfly ant had gone. Was his name Shaiapouf? That was what Morel called him. It didn't take long until she made it out of the palace. Aliara frantically searched the skies for her target. She gasped and jumped, hiding herself in the closest tree. Shaiapouf zoomed overhead, now heading back to the palace. Aliara pursed her lips. "Damn." He must've disposed of the pipe already. She waited until he was gone to sprint in the direction he had come from, frantically looking for wherever the pipe could be. He wasn't gone long; it couldn't be far.

She almost faltered. What if he had destroyed it?

As if. Morel would be sure to pick a pipe that couldn't be destroyed that quickly.

Aliara kept running until she nearly slipped- she was at a river bank. _The river._ "Of course!" she mumbled to herself, and she started running downstream. Sure enough, there was Morel's pipe, lodged in the water between two rocks.

She didn't even hesitate. She dove.

Aliara was surprised by how cold the water was, but she didn't let it slow her down. The river wasn't deep and she was able to reach the pipe easily. With a swift kick, the rock holding the pipe down was swept up by the current. She pushed off the bottom and her head broke through the surface of the water. Coughing and gulping oxygen, Aliara pulled herself out of the river and ran as fast as she could back to the palace.

Finding Morel was now her priority. She needed to get this to him, fast. He could be in battle right now.

Speak of the devil.

No sooner had she reached the palace did her ears pick up on the sound of footsteps and yells. Aliara turned herself towards the sound and was shocked to see Yupi- because he looked completely different. His bottom half was that of a horse; his right arm was a long, thin spike; and his left arm was a bulging, swollen mess. He was swatting at multiple copies of Knuckle, and Morel lay several feet away, evidently exhausted.

 _Yupi's going to kill him._

Sure enough, as soon as the monstrous red Chimera ant had finished with the smoke clones that Morel had created, he turned to the older man, who was kneeling on the ground and breathing heavily.

"You-" Yupi started, and Aliara burst into action.

Her first instinct was to fire her laser from her hand... but Killua still had that. Frowning, Aliara pushed off the ground in a leap and tossed the pipe with all her might in Morel's direction. "Hey!" she screamed, but it was enough to divert Yupi's attention from Morel for a second. The pipe cartwheeled through the air and thankfully, Morel caught it.

"Thanks, brat," he rasped, pushing himself up to his feet. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Why are you soaked?"

Aliara shrugged, pushing her damp hair out of her eyes. "Went for a swim."

Yupi narrowed his eyes at her, then back to Morel. "Why are there so damn many of you?!" he howled, waving his spike-like arm in the air. "You're so annoying!" He glared at her heavily, and Aliara realized that he didn't know she was the one who hit him back in the crater.

"Knuckle's hiding," Morel said, jerking his chin at the chubby bear that was hovering near Yupi. The number on its forehead read 370,684. It was almost half the size of Yupi. "We figure his nen will be gone in three minutes."

"So I have to last three minutes," she mused, starting to dread this battle more than she thought she would.

"Kid, you're ridiculous and reckless," Morel said with a huff, holding the pipe up to his lips. "I like it. Got a plan?"

She shrugged. "It is time," a mechanical voice chimed, and Aliara realized it was the giant floating bear thing with the beady eyes. "Adding interest." The number changed, from 370,684 to 407,752. That was a bit of a crazy jump.

She frowned. "That thing does that every ten seconds?" Morel nodded. "Two minutes, fifty seconds, then."

"Hey, you two," Yupi snarled, starting to stalk towards them after letting them have their precious conversation. "Someone remove this stupid thing from me. It's annoying."

"Cover me," the black-haired girl said.

Morel snorted. "You can't serious be planning on taking him on with one hand."

Aliara had barely noticed that she was missing her hand. "Watch me."

She tried out her rhythm echo. Twenty something copies of her appeared, circling Yupi. Morel got the hint and took a long breath into his pipe, and soon Aliara's twenty five copies were joined by eighty nine of Morel's (not that she had time to count). Yupi snarled in annoyance and the bear chimed again, raising the number to 448,528.

"You all can die!" the Chimera ant snarled, and he stabbed his arm at three clones. Three copies of a soaked, black-clad Aliara vanished.

Simultaneously, the rest of the copies attacked. Yupi howled madly and swung, taking out copies within seconds. Aliara took her time, hiding among her clones as her heart pounded in her rib cage. The number had yet to go up.

She summoned her flaming scythe. Her remaining forty one copies did the same.

"What the hell is up with you humans?!" Yupi screamed, and he rammed his club-like left hand through four copies of her that had just tried to stab him. Aliara watched his face glow with triumph as he skewered one copy of her through the heart, evidently thinking he had got the right one. The real Aliara slunk up behind him and swung with all her might (with just her left hand it was admittedly difficult), burying the six foot blade in his side.

He screamed, a loud bellow of pain and annoyance. "It is time," Knuckle's nen manifestation called, growing. "Adding interest." The number rose to 493,380.

 _It's only been ten seconds?!_

The former assassin leaped back, letting go of her scythe as Yupi swung at where she'd been. The flames had actually charred his skin, leaving black marks. As soon as she let go, the scythe evaporated. Aliara held up her hand and twisted her flames into a gun, backing up and firing repeatedly. Her aim wasn't great with her left hand, but it would have to do.

Morel had gained some distance from Yupi, and with the Chimera ant entirely focused on her, he would be fine where he was. Yupi grunted and charged forwards, brushing off the gunshots like flies. Typical. Aliara rolled as he charged by her, swinging at her. Aliara turned her gun back into a scythe and swung at Yupi's head.

The Chimera ant raised his left arm and blocked her scythe. "So it is solid," he mused. The bear chimed and the number rose to 542,718, but he didn't seem to notice or care. "What're you going to do from here, fire girl?"

Aliara shifted her grip and her scythe morphed into a sword, swinging below Yupi's guard and slicing at his midsection. Surprised, he slid back as Aliara stabbed at him. He swung with his spike arm and Aliara had to contort her body awkwardly to dodge. Yupi seized the moment to kick out with his horse leg, effectively knocking her back. Damn, he packed a punch (or a kick, she supposed). Aliara flew through the air, rolling to a stop across the grass of the palace courtyard. She rose, wincing and holding her ribs. _Dammit, he may have broken a rib._

"You're so fragile," Yupi said, mocking her. "All humans are."

Aliara coughed into her fist and glared.

"It is time," the annoying bear sang, "adding interest." 542,718 rose to 596,990.

"And you only have one hand," he continued, his tone more and more mocking as he continued to talk. "Which makes you even weaker."

Scowling, Aliara concentrated and pushed her nen out of her severed, metal-capped wrist. Her nen took the form of flames and molded itself until it was almost a perfect replica of how her hand used to be. She stared at it for a second before turning back to Yupi. "Better?"

Morel took that as his cue to step in, and he summoned his smoke cloud. This one was different: instead of taking the form of clones, it skidded across the ground and rose up, surrounding Yupi in a cocoon. The last thing Aliara heard was his howl before the smoke closed over his head.

Aliara darted over to Morel, panting and clutching her ribs. "Why didn't you do that sooner?"

"You think that's easy, brat?" the old man grunted, falling back onto his rear. "Takes a lot of strength. And he's insanely strong. Normally I could hold this for a while, but he's strong and I'm weak. I can buy you maybe seventy seconds."

"That's plenty," Aliara said, and she sat herself down in the grass. "Thanks."

"It's thanks to you, though," he mused. "Couldn't have done it without the pipe." They sat in silence for a minute, the swirling grey cocoon of smoke being the center of attention. "I can't do much more. Meleoron took Knuckle, and they're hiding somewhere. So it's up to us."

Aliara stood up slowly, rubbing her side and flexing her fire hand. "Up to me, I guess."

He chuckled weakly, leaning back in the grass. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm out."

"Get yourself out of here."

"On it."

She had a minute left.

The smoke evaporated into the air, and Yupi burst through the smoke, yelling and cursing. His eyes narrowed on Aliara, as she was the only one left in the clearing. She'd seen the explosions this creature could make; without her here to distract him for another sixty seconds, he could very well take out Knuckle and Morel easily. After all, Knuckle had to be within a certain radius for his nen to work.

The bear read 1,279,702.

"Bring it on!" Aliara taunted, cocking her head.

Yupi howled with rage and his left arm swelled, doubling in size. Aliara swore and dodged as fast as she could as his club-like arm swung down to the spot where she just was. His spike stabbed at her and she twisted, moving towards him and summoning her katana.

The battle was bloody and seemed to last for an eternity. Aliara kept getting hit (albeit minor damages), and Yupi seemed to be invincible and didn't feel any of her attacks. She had blood running down her arm from when he slashed her, and she was ninety percent sure she'd broken at least two or three ribs.

She had all of twenty seconds left when she messed up.

Aliara dodged the wrong way, and Yupi's spike skewered her through the stomach.

She heard Morel shout, but all she could hear was the ringing in her ears. She was so, _so_ close- the number was 1,873,611. Aliara coughed, spitting blood onto the spike that pierced her midsection.

"Gotcha, you stupid rat," Yupi spat, holding her up higher. "You've been such a pain in the ass."

 _So close._

Black dots were starting to appear in Aliara's vision. Damn.

 _Well, if I'm about to die, may as well try that technique I thought up._

How could she be so calm when she was bleeding out? Aliara would never know.

Her flame hand had vanished when Yupi stabbed her- not that it mattered. Aliara summoned every last bit of nen she had and surrounded herself with it. Typically, she'd keep her hand safe by protecting them with a thin layer of nen when she held her flames. Now, she surrounded her entire body in that same thin layer.

Aliara Lorvell burst into flames.

Yupi seemed so startled that he almost dropped her. With a mighty swing, Aliara's hand severed Yupi's spike arm from his body. She never even gave him time to recover- she beat him back at every step. Aliara zoomed in like a flaming tornado, punching and kicking with enough strength and technique for ten men. She hit Yupi with a beautiful uppercut to the jaw and planted a kick to his abdomen.

"What the-" the red creature started, but he never got to finish. Aliara stabbed her left hand into his chest.

She froze for a moment, and felt a swell of nen as Yupi's anger consumed him. "I'll kill you," he snarled, his body bulging and swelling as he started to expand. "I'll rip you from limb to limb!"

"Bankrupt!"

Aliara had never heard such a beautiful word. The humongous bear (which now read 2,267,069) vanished in a puff of smoke, and in its place was the tiny devil creature that Aliara remembered latching onto Gon.

Yupi stopped swelling. His body started shrinking, folding in on itself until he was only a few heads taller than Aliara, like he was when they first encountered him. "What?" he croaked, confused. "My nen-"

The black-haired girl's scythe cut his head clean off his shoulders.

Yupi's head tumbled to the ground and Aliara stomped on it, forcing it to explode into tiny bits of brain and blood. "Dead," she mumbled, immensely relieved. "Dead. We did it."

"Kid!" Morel shouted, and Aliara turned to see the grey-haired man leaning against the far wall. He gave her a thumbs up.

Aliara grinned cheekily, giving him a thumbs up back with her left hand.

And then, Aliara Lorvell, soaked in blood and water and broken beyond belief, fainted.

* * *

 **WOW. That is the longest chapter I've ever pumped out. And within my update deadline too! I'm so proud :')**

 **Thanks to _Eliza211, Seira-Knightwalker, xenocanaan, Oof, A Hopeful Guest, supboyyyyy93, Kyuubi Kuroba,_ and _KilluaKagura_ for your lovely reviews :) (Many thanks to _Kyuubi Kuroba_ for catching my mistake, I had no idea!)**

 **This was such an intense and action-packed chapter and I'd love to hear your thoughts! Hopefully I did okay! :)**


	77. Conference

**Chapter** **77: Conference**

Aliara blinked the sleep out of her eyes as she yawned, sitting up. She couldn't remember sleeping that well in a while. Her eyes took their time adjusting to the light, and she stretched out her arms. "What?..."

"Happy birthday."

The dark-haired girl blinked, and the blinding spots that clouded her vision faded away. She instantly hated the large white room and the large bed she was laying on, with different monitors surrounding her. Killua sat at her left side, gingerly holding her hand.

"I really hate waking up in hospital beds," she yawned, trying to force a grin. "Is it actually my birthday?"

"August 8th," the white-haired boy said with a smile, his eyes flickering to check the alarm clock by her bed. "11:08 pm."

"Did we miss your birthday?" Aliara asked, frowning. "I didn't even realize."

Killua rolled his eyes. "When the world's about to go to hell, we kind of miss these things."

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize, I missed it too," he said with a smirk. "I didn't even realize my birthday had passed."

"So what happened?"

The white-haired boy's gaze clouded over.

"Killua," Aliara said dangerously, suddenly very worried for his answer, "what happened to Gon?"

It took the next five minutes, at least, for Killua to go through everything that happened since they had separated when Aliara went to fetch Morel's pipe, and with every passing minute, the sinking feeling in Aliara's stomach got worse and worse. When she heard what had happened in the end and that he was currently in critical condition, she wanted to vomit. What the hell? What had Gon done to himself?

"You did everything you could," she promised Killua softly when she saw the troubled look on his face.

"But I _didn't_ ," he stressed, glaring at the floor. "I could've talked with him, I should've stayed with him, I-"

"I tried to talk to him and he shoved me away," Aliara countered, and when Killua's eyes shot up to meet her she shook her head. "Not that I'm blaming this on Gon, either."

"So who are we blaming this on, then?"

She paused. "That's a good question." She half-smiled at Killua and he smiled back. "The ants?"

"The ants," Killua echoed.

"So the king is dead?"

"Yeah. So is the president."

"Really? Damn. I kind of liked that guy."

Killua chuckled, then ran a hand through his fluffy hair. "In other news, they're holding an election to pick the new president. It's pretty crazy. They've already voted once today, and they're voting again now."

"What?"

He rolled his eyes. "They're doing a really weird format this time, for whatever reason. Only hunters can vote, and if the attendance rate for voting isn't over ninety-five percent, they redo it. After they finally hit ninety-five percent, they'll narrow it down to the top sixteen and so on."

"And you can vote for anyone?"

"Any hunter, yeah."

Aliara huffed. "Sounds like a pain in the ass, if you ask me."

Killua rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Speaking of pains in the ass, guess who showed up for the election."

"Who?"

"...Your mother."

"She's _alive?!"_ Aliara groaned and flopped back on the bed, the image of her mother's face appearing in her mind and making her want to hit something. "Wow. But she's not a hunter. Why is she here?"

Killua shrugged. "I watched the television for a bit. She's supplied the hunter association with over sixty percent of their funds, and although she's not allowed to vote, apparently she's a 'worthy spokesperson' due to all the money she's put into this."

"For her own motives, I'm sure," the black-haired girl growled, sitting up again and punching the bed. "She needs to have a handle on just about fucking _everything_."

"Kuro stopped by," he added, and Aliara straightened up. "You were asleep. But he wanted me to tell you he found Ano. Apparently the kid ran into a bit of trouble with Chimera ants through his town but he's okay."

"Good," she said, relieved. "Did he drop off my backpack?"

"Yep." Killua reached around to just under the bed and tugged out her backpack, handing it to her. Aliara beamed and hugged the bag against her chest. "I kept your hand safe, by the way. It's in the bag. Kuro said he'll stop by later. Apparently he's gathering info on your mom." Aliara nodded slowly, not really knowing what else to say. "I think," Killua added, staring at the floor, "I know a way to save Gon."

Aliara blinked a few times. "What? How?"

"He's been in the same condition for at least a week now," the white-haired boy continued, "and they even brought in a few nen removers. Nothing is working. I know someone who can fix him, no problem."

Killua was being really cryptic. "Are you... Can you tell me?" Aliara asked slowly, cocking her head.

He sighed. "It's my younger sister. Her abilities are a family secret, but she can heal Gon. I don't know how willing my family will be to let me take her to him- actually, they probably won't let me at all. I have to go home and get her."

"What can she do?"

"They might kill you if they know that I told you," Killua warned, and Aliara quirked an eyebrow. He rolled his eyes. "As usual, you don't care. Fine then, but this is confidential. She can grant wishes. Like, anything."

"Anything?" Aliara let out a low whistle. "Damn."

He smirked at her. "It comes with a price, though. You have to listen to three of her 'pesterings'. Then she grants you a wish. After one wish is granted, then the next demands become even bigger. If you refuse her four times, she kills you and the person or people you love most, or have spent the most time with. And when she grants a wish, a lot of people die too."

"That sounds complicated," Aliara deadpanned, frowning. "So?..."

"My family thinks that I'll make a wish, and therefore kill them all off."

"Pleasant."

"Mm," Killua hummed in agreement. "But there's a trick that only I know about. If you ask her to heal someone, nobody dies, and nobody gets the backlash of it. At all."

"So healing Gon would be okay," the black-haired girl confirmed, and he nodded. "When are you leaving?"

"Tonight. I wanted to wait until you woke up so I knew you were okay."

Her heart pounded against her rib cage. "Idiot! I'm fine. You should've left sooner."

He glared at her. "Did you hear about your injuries?"

"I'm fine now! Why would I care?"

"Idiot. But you're not wrong, your injuries weren't as bad as they looked. Morel told me about what happened- you're insane, by the way, doing all that with one hand- and that stab from Yupi nicked a lung, but they patched that up. You also broke four ribs, but they're already healed, because you're insane. The doctors had a good panic attack over that one. You just had a couple cuts and stuff otherwise."

"Told you I'm fine."

"I'm sorry I took your hand. Maybe you'd-"

"Shush. You got charged, didn't you? And you're unscathed. It was worth it." They both kind of glared at each other for a second until Aliara broke first, her face cracking into a grin. "Moron."

"Says you," Killua countered, smirking. He leaned in and pressed his lips against her forehead briefly. "You're incredible."

"So are you," Aliara said, beaming. "Do you want me to come with you? To get your sister?"

She watched Killua deflate, frowning. "I don't know. I was thinking about it, and as much as I want you to- that, and I know I probably couldn't stop you if you wanted to- I don't think..." he trailed off.

"It'd be easier if I didn't, right?" she asked quietly.

Killua bit his lip and nodded. "Yeah. I didn't want to say it."

This was what she loved about their relationship. The fact he could be honest with her and trust her not to get mad or angry with him. She cared too much about him to force her way into things he wanted to do himself, and he did the same for her.

"I get it, actually," she mused, and she watched confusion fill Killua's eyes. "It's like after our hunter exam. When I had to go home to speak with my mom about the bounty thing. You could've come, but that would've probably made things more complicated for dealing with my mom. She could've used you against me. Maybe this is the same thing for you."

She smiled wryly. "Besides, this is something that you should probably do yourself, right? That's how I felt for my own family problems. And if you can respect letting me go to deal with my own things, I don't see why I shouldn't do the same for you."

Killua sighed in relief and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "You're the best."

Aliara snuggled into his chest and relaxed, smiling. "Yeah. You too. But you'd better call me if you need anything."

"I promise," he agreed, kissing her briefly before he pulled away. "You have fun dealing with your mom."

"Oh, trust me, I will," Aliara all but cackled, a plan already forming in her mind. "I have a plan. Go get your sister."

They both had their own jobs to do.

* * *

Aliara was declared perfectly healthy and functional when the doctors came in, and she was immediately greeted by Leorio, who wanted to know all about how she was doing and why the hell she had a metal hand. The soon-to-be doctor was doing well in school and had rushed over here when he heard about Gon's condition. Bisky was here too, apparently, as was Hanzo from the first hunter exam they took. Killua had left, saying that the more time he had, the sooner he could be back.

Morel was doing well. He'd suffered some pretty severe injuries and his old age didn't help the healing process, but he was doing okay. He'd be stuck in the hospital for a few more days.

The nurses, albeit astounded, discharged her after a thorough inspection the next morning. Aliara changed into black track pants with white stripes down the sides and a white t-shirt, which was very uncharacteristic of her, but it was a nice shirt. She threw her shortish black hair up into a ponytail and put on her runners, which were as comfy as always. The final touch was her mechanical hand, which worked perfectly.

It was only when she looked in a mirror while changing did she realize how much she'd actually grown up. Sure, she was fourteen now. But she was a bit taller, much more toned, and she was even developing some curves. Aliara frowned at herself in the mirror. She was becoming more like a girl every day.

Killua told her that he'd gotten them a hotel room for the time being, if they needed to use it. He said he'd left something there for her. Curious, Aliara had found the hotel and the hotel room rather quickly.

The hotel was small and simple, which was wonderful, and their room was on the fifth floor. Aliara found their room and swiped the key card that Killua left for her and a tiny flashing green light told her it was safe to go in.

"Nice," Aliara murmured to herself as she pushed open the door and gazed around the room. It was simple, with two small beds, a balcony, and a small bathroom. But it was well kept and looked rather nice.

There was a box on the bed. Evidently not left by the cleaning staff.

Aliara picked up the box gingerly. It was plain and black, and Aliara recognized it as a jewelry box. She frowned- she typically didn't wear jewelry. She pried open the box and found a small sheet of paper and something wrapped in tissue paper.

She unfolded the paper carefully and happy tears sparked in her eyes.

 _You mean the world to me._

 _Happy birthday._

 _-K_

It was short and simple and absolutely perfect. Aliara didn't even really need the present; she was completely satisfied with the note. She took apart the tissue paper.

Scratch that.

It was a simple, silver necklace- just a long chain with a circular locket hanging from it, with a clear cover to show any charms that would be encased inside. Killua had taken the liberty of selecting two small charms for her.

A lightning bolt and a flame.

Aliara laughed as she held up the necklace and the two tiny charms skittered around, colliding with each other every so often as she shifted the circle case. She held it up and pressed it against her heart, trying to prevent herself from squealing.

She couldn't have asked for anyone better than him.

* * *

Killua was in the family limo with Alluka at his side when his phone buzzed. Curious, he tugged it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen.

 ** _Ali:_**

 _It's perfect._

He grinned to himself as his heart did a little dance in his chest. He just had to hope he wouldn't die doing this so he could see her wear it.

* * *

After the second election, with an attendance rate of eight-nine point seven percent, a third election was held. But this time, they chose to do a conference beforehand in order to encourage hunters to ask questions and be more sure about their votes.

Approximately half an hour after receiving Killua's birthday present, Aliara chose to go with Leorio to attend the conference, sporting her new necklace. Leorio was grumbling about being unable to contact Kurapika the entire time, but other than that, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Until they got to the conference, and Aliara saw her mother up on the stage.

She groaned aloud and smacked herself in the forehead. "Is that your mother?" Leorio asked venomously, obviously recognizing the woman from their encounter at her mansion.

"Unfortunately," she muttered, shaking her head.

They found their seats, somewhere near the top of the auditorium, when a man with a sparkling suit and bright blond hair stood up from his spot at the front. There were two long tables on the stage with six people seated behind one and five behind the other, and a podium in the center where the sparkly man was currently located. There was a large, cozy seat at the back of the stage, where her mother currently sat. The auditorium was almost full, Aliara noticed. There were a lot of hunters.

The man started to speak and Leorio nudged her. "That's Pariston. He's leading for votes right now."

"He seems fake," Aliara said with a snort, crossing her arms. "I don't like him."

Leorio rolled his eyes. "That's the Zodiac Twelve. They're handpicked by Chairman Netero."

"So they're important," she mused. Her emerald eyes narrowed on a grungy-looking man who was sitting next to the podium, looking bored out of his mind. "He looks familiar."

"That's Ging," Leorio said simply.

Aliara's jaw dropped. "What?! _That's_ him?! Gon's father?!"

He nodded. "Yeah. I want a word with him."

Pariston was finishing up when Aliara's mother strode forward on the stage. Pariston slid out of the way with a smile that belonged in a dental ad. Adrianna Lorvell was wearing a dark green dress that flared out at the waist and was decorated with gold accents. Yes, it was a gorgeous dress, but completely unnecessary for an event such as this. Her hair was pulled up into an elegant bun on her head. "She's going to make a speech?" Leorio asked incredulously.

Aliara wanted to sink into her seat. Her mother's gaze swept the crowd and she started, "Welcome, esteemed hunters. Thank you for attending this conference, as it will hopefully help to be a large step forward for us all in this government and in our community."

The black-haired girl snorted. "She says 'us' like she's a hunter."

"She's not?" Leorio whisper-shouted, his eyes flashing. Aliara shook her head.

"I ask that you please put your faith in the Zodiac Twelve and in myself to make this election run as smoothly as possible. I would hate for anything to go wrong for myself," she said, her voice chilly, "especially since I am funding this event and the majority of the government's funds come from me. I have plenty of respect for hunters and the difficult work they do, and I would hate to tarnish our hard-earned relationship. Thank you."

There was polite applause, and Aliara sank so low in her seat that she may as well have been on the floor. "She's so embarrassing," she muttered, shaking her head. "She knows that people don't like her. If there wasn't a crowd..." She punched her metal hand into her palm and Leorio smirked.

"Let's begin with opinions and questions, then," a small woman said, glancing around the crowd. Leorio's hand was already in the air. "Yes, you in the dark blue suit. Please come up to the desk."

Aliara gazed to her right and saw a small desk with a microphone on it. Leorio stood up and made his way over, composed and cool. He picked up the mic and said, "Leorio Paladiknight, from the 287th Hunter exam. I'd like to ask something to that Ging guy over there."

Ging raised his eyebrows from under his hat. "Why haven't you gone to Gon yet?" Leorio snapped, the volume of his voice rising. "You should know what condition he's in."

The older man sighed and raised a hand. The hosting woman nodded at him. "First of all, who are you to him?"

"His friend."

"Is that so," the hunter mused, crossing his arms. "I'm in your debt, then. I'll be relying on you from now on, as well. That's all."

"That's all?" Aliara spat, sitting up straight in her seat. "Listen, you filthy-"

"Answer the question!" Leorio demanded, jerking his thumb at the door. "Or better yet, get going! Go see him!" When Ging shrugged, Leorio lost his temper, and his grip on the mic was so tight that it looked like he would break it. "Don't fuck with me, you bastard! Do you have any idea how much he wants to see you?"

"Did he ever say that he wanted me to come?" Ging asked calmly.

Aliara frowned. "Kind of hard to do that when you're in a near-death coma."

"You fucking _bastard_ _!"_ Leorio cursed, swinging his fist violently and striking the desk with enough force to break it. Aliara was about to call out to him when a fist rocketed out of the table in front of Ging and struck him in a fierce uppercut. Leorio stuck out his middle finger at the man as he went flying backwards. "Eat this and die!" he howled.

Aliara was surprised to see that she was among a large crowd of people who burst into applause and gave Leorio a standing ovation.

The angry man came back to his seat, fuming, and Aliara grinned at him. "That was nice."

"He should be seeing Gon," Leorio grumbled.

"Is that your nen? Kind of like teleportation, I guess?"

"That's part of it," he agreed, but he had calmed down significantly.

"Well," Aliara said with a smirk as she watched some people bring in a new desk, "I think the rest of this will be rather boring now, don't you?"

He shrugged. "I guess." He cast a glance at her and frowned when he saw the expression on her face. "What're you up to?"

"You'll see," she said, grinning. "I'm going to go up in a few minutes."

They waited as a few people went up- concerns about missing hunters, concerns about exams, concerns about this and that and things that Aliara didn't care too much about. The black-haired girl was too excited to be nervous, and she clicked open her blueprint app on her phone, just to make sure everything was set up.

She was ready.

The hunter who was currently sharing his opinion finished, and Aliara thrust her left hand- her real hand- into the air. The woman at the front called on her and Aliara tried her best to keep her nerves at bay as she made her way to the desk. She glanced up and saw her mother's face pale with recognition. _Perfect._

"Aliara Lorvell of the 288th Hunter exam," she said calmly.

A couple people in the crowd started whispering. _Let them talk. What can they do?_

Pariston's eyes shone gleefully as he glanced from the increasingly-pale Adrianna Lorvell to her smirking daughter, who was the perfect height to lean on the desk on her elbows. "Hey, Mom," Aliara said cheerfully, waving with her good hand. "What's up? Haven't seen you since I burnt the house down."

If Adrianna Lorvell could go any paler, she did. More whispers burst out in the crowd that Aliara shut out, because she already knew what people were saying, and she didn't care. The woman who was hosting seemed oblivious to the tension as she asked, "who is your question for?"

Aliara grinned. "Mine's for the lovely bitch at the back. You good for a few questions, mum?"

She was getting sarcastic and sassy and she loved it. Leorio flashed her a thumbs up and her grin got wider. "The questions," Adrianna snapped, her eyes glaring a hole through Aliara's skull, "are for the Zodiac Twelve. Not myself."

"Is that because you're not a hunter?"

The whispers were abruptly shut off.

Aliara gasped lightly. "Oh, was I not supposed to mention that? Tragic."

"Speak your question," her mother demanded, nostrils flaring, "and be done with it."

She was prepared for this. She knew it, and she had almost no doubts going forward. She'd made a quick call to Kuro after Killua left and received some interesting information. She'd managed to get a hold of Ano, and it'd taken him an hour, but he'd gotten her the footage she'd asked for. Hacking into her mansion's security system proved to be difficult but he managed it; hacking into a neighboring billionaire's security system was just as difficult. But he'd done it.

She could take down her mother personally, as she'd tried to do before. But the most efficient way to take down Adrianna Lorvell was to do it publicly. Hard to cover things up after a public scam, hmm?

"My question," Aliara said slowly, savoring every moment of her mother's destruction, "is whether the hunter association and everyone here is okay with all your funding, despite knowing where it comes from."

This was followed by a heavy silence until Adrianna snapped, "my money comes from businesses and-"

"That may be true," the raven-haired girl forged on, tapping the tiny button to turn on her projector, "but what about your children? How much money comes from marrying your children off to families of high status with plenty of business and cash?"

"My children are married based on their own personal preferences-"

"Bullshit," Aliara interrupted with a snap, "your oldest son has been married since he was sixteen, and now he's twenty one! He didn't even know the girl!"

Adrianna's face contorted into an ugly scowl. "Do you have a point?"

"Yes," Aliara said, her finger hovering over the button on her projector. "My point is that Lady Heidi Grenalda-Lorvell was found dead a year ago. And Lady Julia Juniper-Lorvell was found dead as of three weeks ago. Miss Heidi was my oldest brother's wife, and Miss Julia was my second-oldest brother's wife. Both were found dead of poisoning. Tragic, I know.

"The deal is," she continued, pressing a button on her projector, "I found a lovely set of footage that leads me to believe that you were behind their deaths."

The projector whirred and a huge image shot out of her palm. The audience all craned their necks to see a high-quality video shot of Adrianna Lorvell in her study, discussing who-knows-what with a tall, blond-haired man. God bless Ano and his hacking skills- she really owed him.

"This is Kai Mornson," Aliara said cheerfully. "This image is from two months ago. Coincidentally, a week later, Mr. Mornson was hired at the Juniper estate. A few weeks later, my brother's wife is dead. And suddenly, the Lorvells have access to the entire estate and all of the money that goes with it."

Apparently people in the audience were finally starting to put the pieces together. "To put the icing on the cake," Aliara added, "the same man was hired as a waiter at the Grenalda mansion a week before the death of my older brother's wife. He quit his job two weeks after her death."

The expression on Adrianna's face was priceless.

"What's even better is that my oldest brother tracked down your assassin and even managed a confession," she concluded, her grin wide. "A confession that details how you paid him a huge sum of money to poison both my brother's wives. Because now, you have complete access to their family inheritance as well as our own."

Aliara cocked her head. "So yes, I wonder if these hunters know where your money comes from. Or what lengths you go to get it. Am I wrong?"

She was throwing too much proof at her mother to handle. Had this been a private conversation, Adrianna would have ways to sort out the problems- she could go to great lengths to protect the security footage, or she could find Kai Mornson and silence him. Too late now, not when Aliara had the proof and was proudly showing it off in front of a few hundred people.

"Lies," her mother said weakly.

"It would take more hunters than the amount in this room to count on our hands how many lies you've told," she retorted.

Silence again.

"I think your silence answers my question," Aliara said firmly, tapping the projector's power button on her hand and turning it off. "You're a fraud. A murderous, wicked fraud that would do anything for money, including backstabbing, lying, cheating, stealing, and betrayal. Even selling off your own children."

Adrianna Lorvell's expression twisted into one of insanity. She cackled, "you're just a child! No one will believe you!"

"Is this televised?" Aliara interrupted, turning around. She saw a recording camera and gave the camera man a thumbs up. "Thanks."

"You're not my daughter!" she snarled, a hint of a devious smile on her face. "What can you do?"

"I can ruin you," Aliara said simply, "and I just did."

She returned to her seat for the second standing ovation of the conference as her mother fled the stage.

Adrianna Lorvell was finished.

And victory had never been so sweet.

* * *

 **Aliara certainly did a lot of research. Hmm.**

 **It's been a long internal debate. There's been so much confusion surrounding Alluka's gender, because so many people say so many different things. I'm choosing to go by the Hunter X Hunter Wikia, which uses female pronouns and refers to Alluka as female. I'm sorry if you disagree with my choice but this is my decision.**

 **Speaking of choices, I had a rough time debating what to do with Aliara during this particular section of the story line. The majority of OCs, as I've noticed, go with Killua and in a surprising amount of stories, there's a bunch of jealousy and stuff like that. I was going to avoid that in the first place and have Aliara and Alluka get along, but as I was trying to work out all the complications, I realized...**

 **Isn't it just easier if she doesn't go along? Killua's much faster with carrying one person while using God Speed. Not to mention that the Zoldyck family probably wouldn't be overly appreciative of Aliara to begin with, and when I reread the manga and noticed all their security protocols and stuff, trying to force Aliara in there seemed like a bad idea. And Miss Adrianna Lorvell won't exactly take this election sitting down- naturally, she's got to have a foot in it somewhere. So? Let's try this out.**

 **If you have questions or comments, please let me know! We're nearing the end of the story and I'd rather address issues sooner than later.**

 **Thanks to _Awesomeness3013, KilluaKagura, Eliza211, kitsunelover300, Keep Calm and Be Ninja, Readingallwayz4life, JennyJey, Caliope07, Jayfeathers Friend,_ and _A pleased guest_ for the lovely reviews and support!~**

 **-Jayfeathers Friend: That's a tough question. I've lost interest in the story so unfortunately I don't have an answer for you.**

 **Wow, what a long author's note. Thank you all for your continuous love!~ :D**


	78. Interview

**Chapter** **78: Interview**

Aliara and Leorio left before the conference was finished.

Unfortunately, there were already reporters swarming the front entrance to the building. The fact that the two biggest spectacles of the day revolved around a pair that already knew each other and the two of them leaving together threw the reporters into a frenzy.

"Back exit," Aliara decided, and Leorio agreed with a nod of his head.

As luck would have it, there were plenty of reporters waiting outside the back of the building too, microphones out and video cameras at the ready. Aliara sighed, and Leorio grumbled, "I've never liked the press. Should we force our way out?"

"You have fun with that," the black-haired girl mused. "I'm getting out my own way."

Leorio frowned at her. "And how is that?"

She shrugged. "Quietly. Let's go, hmm?"

"What?"

Aliara forced the door open and the reporters turned to the door like moths to a light. "Miss Lorvell!" Some shouted. "Mr. Paladiknight!" Aliara sighed and activated her zetsu, then ducked and zipped through the crowd like a mouse. Leorio didn't have the same luck- the frenzied and frantic reporters swarmed him and the soon-to-be doctor had a tough time fending them off.

Meanwhile, Aliara made it back to the hospital without much problem at all. She checked in as a visitor and tried her best to find Gon's room- she hadn't been there yet.

She almost regretted finding it when she felt the sickly waves of aura being emitted from the room. Aliara nearly gagged and she pressed her hand up against the glass. His room was dark and he was completely covered by a sheet and it made Aliara feel like she had to vomit just by _looking_ in there.

"I saw your thing on television."

Aliara jerked her gaze from Gon to Morel. He was dressed in a white-collared hospital shirt and matching pants with his usual shades. He sat himself down on the bench with a huff. "And?" she tried, turning her attention back to Gon's hospital bed.

He shrugged. "Well, I didn't know you were a Lorvell."

Aliara almost laughed- she hadn't even realized Morel had no idea.

"And I don't think your mother is going to be making any public appearances for a while now," Morel continued, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "Last I heard, they were sending authorities down to the conference."

"She'll find a way out of it," Aliara said with a snort, shaking her head. "She always does."

"But you made it really difficult for her to actually get any more business in the future," he commended, frowning. "Despite how petty that whole thing was, it was well researched and the projector image was a nice touch. There are more immature ways of handling it, I suppose."

"You know what? I'll take it."

He chuckled. "You're a crazy child."

"Teenager," she corrected, smirking. "I turned fourteen yesterday."

"Did you? Still a child." Morel shook his head. "You lot are too young to be dealing with all this."

Aliara softened. "I guess."

"You actually got quite a lot of votes, you know?"

"Votes? For what?"

"The next chairman election."

 _"What?!"_

Morel laughed at her surprise. "Why are you so shocked? You proved yourself to be bold, level-headed, and calm in the face of reckless crowd. You certainly shot down any rumors that were probably circulating."

"Good," Aliara grumbled, "but votes?! I'm just a kid."

"Teenager," Morel corrected, echoing her words from earlier, and she just glared at him. "If I recall correctly, you got 51 votes. You're in fourth place."

"I'm _what?!"_

"I assume you don't want to be chairman?"

"No!" Aliara objected immediately, shaking her head. "Too much responsibility. I have so many other things I'd rather be doing, and running a government is not one of them."

Morel shrugged. "Fair enough."

There was a moment of silence, and then Aliara's phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out, nearly fumbling with it as she realized it was Killua. "Killua? How's it going?"

 _"Illumi's after me."_

Aliara felt rage flood her body and her free hand- her metal hand- contorted into a fist. "That asshole?" she spat. "I'll rip him from limb to limb!"

She could almost hear Killua smiling over the phone. _"Thanks. Anyways, I've got Alluka and we're okay so far. We're travelling by blimp, and there's about six or seven other blimps out and about right now, so I don't think Illumi can figure out where I am so easily."_

She nodded. "Your sister's name is Alluka?"

 _"I never mentioned that?"_

"Nope."

 _"Huh. Well, yes, that's her name. The other side of her, I call Nanika."_

"Alluka's a pretty name."

Killua didn't reply for a second but when he got back to her, he said, _"She says thank you. Is anyone else there with you?"_

"Just the old man," Aliara said with a shrug as Morel scowled at her. "You want to speak to him?"

 _"Please. I'll talk to you a bit more when we're done, though."_

Aliara handed the phone off to Morel, who was looking less than pleased with her, and he pressed it to his ear. Occasionally, he just said "yep" or "got that covered" but for the most part he was just listening. After a minute or so, when Aliara was really starting to wonder what the hell they were talking about, Morel handed the phone back to her, stood up, and left. Confused, Aliara held the phone back up to her ear.

 _"I saw the conference thing."_

She flushed. "Oh. You saw that?"

Killua laughed. _"Yeah. You were really something up there, hmm?"_ Aliara smacked herself in the forehead with her free hand and groaned. _"No, I'm serious. You did a good job. I liked watching it."_

"You- You did?"

 _"Yeah. I liked the necklace you were wearing, by the way."_

She beamed. "You saw that I was wearing it? It's absolutely perfect, I love it."

 _"I'm glad. I know you don't really like jewelry-"_

"I'll wear it," Aliara promised, glancing down at the silver locket that lay against her chest. "I honestly will."

 _"I know."_

"Good."

They lapsed in silence for a few moments before Killua said, _"I'm going to land soon. I'll be at the hospital as soon as I can. I promise."_

"Okay," she agreed, glancing at Gon's bed and swallowing hard. "I miss you."

He chuckled. _"It hasn't even been a full day yet."_

"Still."

 _"Yeah, yeah. I miss you too."_

"See you soon."

Aliara clicked her phone off and took one last glance at Gon's bed before she turned to the nearest exit.

After all, she had some voting to do.

* * *

The top sixteen were narrowed down to the top eight. Aliara, unfortunately, made it into the top eight with 48 votes. She was in fifth place. Aliara groaned and smacked her head off the wall of her hotel room as the news flashed up on her phone screen. The vote for the top four happened around dusk on the evening of the 9th. Aliara voted for Morel- he was in the top, after all. He'd do a much better job than anyone else. Leorio was good too, but if he wanted to be a doctor, he couldn't be chairman. Obviously.

She was pleased when she took sixth place in the top four election, which would've kicked her out- but the attendance rate was only ninety-one point two. It was all Aliara could do not to break something- how hard was it for her to just get herself kicked out of the election?

There was a polite knock at the door. Aliara cocked an eyebrow. "Who is it?"

"It's the official Hunter association media platform," a female voice called out from behind the door. "We wish to interview your thoughts about the election!"

 _How did they know where I... Well, they're hunters, after all._ Aliara sighed. "Come in."

To her credit, the lady was quiet and polite. She, alongside two tall men carrying video equipment and such, let themselves into her room and started setting up their equipment. "We're just doing quick interviews for all the top hunters," she explained with a smile. "Sorry to bother you."

Aliara shrugged and set down her phone. "Not like I was doing anything anyways."

Another thirty seconds later, the camera men had set up and the lady had made herself comfortable in one of two armchairs near the balcony side of the hotel room. Aliara sat herself down in the other one. "So the idea of this interview is just a little quick bit about yourself so that people will hopefully want to vote for you," the lady continued, shifting her pale blonde hair out of her face. "Are you ready?"

"Sure."

The lady turned to the camera as the camera man clicked it on. She flashed the camera a smile that would've made Pariston jealous as she said, "this is Tessa Zequila, reporting to you live in a small hotel room on the west side of town with one of our top eight hunters that's gained a lot of attention over the last few days. I'm here with Aliara Lorvell, in the flesh. How are you today, miss?"

She shrugged. "Fine. Just waiting for this election to be over."

The reporter frowned. "Is the election not going to way you want it to? Do you wish you had more votes?"

"The opposite," Aliara explained with a sigh, rolling her eyes. She wasn't used to being on camera, but pretending to be posed and professional came naturally to her. She could do this with her eyes closed. "I have no intention of becoming chairman."

"But- But you're doing so well," the reporter stammered, evidently confused because this was not the way she expected this to go, "and you have so many supporters."

Aliara shrugged carelessly. _You'd think some of these voters would have a few more brains,_ was what she wanted to say, but for the sake of professionalism she bit her tongue. "I understand that my votes are simply coming from people who were impressed with how I stood up to my mother. I appreciate the support, but I'm only fourteen. I'm way too young to be chairman."

"A very mature decision for your age," she remarked. "Many people in your position would welcome the power."

"Thanks," she said dryly. "But I've got plenty more things planned to do with my life and frankly, politics isn't one of them."

"Speaking of politics and such," the reporter forged on, ready to get to the gossipy part of the interview, "the way you stood up to your mother was unexpected. What prompted this?"

"I've been trying to get her to leave me alone, or find some way to knock her down a peg for a while," Aliara admitted, settling her shin in her palm as she propped her elbow up on her knee. "Nothing that I could do privately seemed to work. I figured a public exposure would force her down for a while."

"For a while?" Tessa said with a frown. "You think she'll be back?"

"Oh, for sure," Aliara agreed. "I've thrown part of what she does into the public. She'll find some way around it."

"Part of what she does? There's more than just assassination in an effort to inherit more business?"

The black-haired girl could write an essay that would take a week to read of all the shitty things her mother had done. "Plenty more. I'm trying to figure out how much I can expose without hurting my siblings or myself in the process. There's way too many secrets and too many people to twist them around."

"Your public exposure was very rehearsed," the reporter commented, changing topics. "How much preparation did you need?"

"To be honest, I woke up in a hospital bed the day before the conference, and that was when I found out my mother was going to be there," she said with a sigh, thinking of her call with Kuro after Killua had left. "I contacted my brother and he said he found something that could bring her down. I jumped on the opportunity. They gave me the information and I presented it."

"They?"

"I had my younger brother hack into our security systems to find that old video clip. My older brother was the one who found the info in the first place. I couldn't have done it without them."

"So if they were the ones who provided all the information, then why were you the one to present it?"

Aliara frowned. "Good question. I suppose I was just in the right place at the right time. That, and I had the projector. Many people won't believe things without proof, not that I can blame them, so the image hopefully helped."

"So you projected that out of your..." Tessa trailed off. "Your hand?"

"Yep." She didn't elaborate. She knew where this would lead.

"How?"

She sighed and tugged her wrist out of the black hoodie that she had been hiding her hand in. "It's a prosthetic."

"That's a remarkable prosthetic, then," the lady said. The camera zoomed in on her hand. "It's incredibly complex."

"That's because I built it."

"You... You _built_ that?"

"Yes."

Tessa's jaw slipped open slightly and she shook her head. "That's incredible. It really looks professional, I can't believe that's something you made on your own." Aliara pursed her lips for a tight smile, already dreading the next question. "How did you come to lose your hand?"

"That," the black-haired girl said, keeping her voice even, "is something I will not be sharing."

The reporter looked disappointed. "Well, alright. I think that's all the time we have anyways."

"Good," Aliara muttered under her breath.

"Thank you, Aliara Lorvell. Best of luck with the election."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes. (...Did the camera catch that? Oops.) Tessa Zequila, or whatever her name was, stood up and packed up her things as the camera man started dismantling the camera stand. "Thanks," Aliara said halfheartedly.

The lady flashed her a smile. "You're quite the interesting young woman, Miss Lorvell. I hope we meet again."

It was only after the door closed behind the reporter and her camera man that Aliara muttered, "I hope not." With a sigh, Aliara slumped back in the arm chair. Publicity was exhausting. That was something she'd always admire her mother for, oddly enough- holding her own for so well and so long out in public. She was sitting on a throne of lies and she did a remarkable job to not let anyone see where she was sitting, so to speak.

The black-haired girl decided that she probably needed a nap. As fidgety as she was, sitting around a hotel room and being insanely restless wasn't going to help anyone.

Her plans were interrupted four minutes later when her phone buzzed.

It was a mad dash for the phone as Aliara rolled across the bed and fumbled with it before she tried to press the button. "Hello?"

 _"Yo. What's up?"_

Aliara sighed and rolled her eyes. "Hey, Kuro. If you saw the televised Hunter's conference, then you'd know what's up."

He laughed. _"You killed it out there. Ano thinks so too, he says hi."_

"You're with Ano?! No fair!"

 _"Yeah, yeah. The public sham has thrown the internet into chaos. People are all throwing their own theories around. About half of them believe you and the other half think you're crazy and attention seeking."_ Aliara rolled her eyes. _"That changed when Ano released some exclusive video clips of our wonderful mother conferring with several shady assassins. And, a video of Kai Mornson's confession."_

"A what?!" Aliara bolted up from the bed, a huge grin spreading across her face. "No freaking way!"

 _"Ano's got some serious skill,"_ Kuro agreed.

"Ano, I love you so much," the black-haired girl said in relief. "You're the best, thank you."

 _"Oi, where's my appreciation? I hunted down the Mornson kid."_

Aliara rolled her eyes. "Love you too, Kuro."

 _"Whatever,"_ Kuro scoffed. _"I have to go but I just thought I'd check in. It was mostly Ano kicking me around to call you."_

She laughed. "Thanks. Tell Ano I'll meet up with him soon. Give him my phone number."

 _"I'll consider it. See ya, brat."_

Aliara hummed happily as she hung up. She missed her brothers and the phone call had cheered her up a bit; it distracted her from how much she missed Killua. Aliara sighed and flopped back against the bed, clutching the phone to her heart.

Her phone buzzed not even a second later.

 _ **Killua:**_

 _I'm almost at the hospital._

Her heart pounded in her chest, threatening to burst out through her rib cage. Aliara was off like a shot.

Killua was okay.

And Gon would soon be too.

* * *

 **It just dawned on me how quickly this story is coming to a close. I actually think the next chapter might be the last (...and I don't know how comfortable I am with that). It's really weird to think that I've kept this story up for so long. I don't want it to end. Aliara's one of the best OCs I've ever created.**

 **Many thanks to _KilluaKagura, pupstarstar, kitsunelover300, Caraa, BritishBat, Eliza211, guest,_ and _Yozora531_ for your lovely reviews, as always!**

 **And many thanks to _guest_ and _Yozora531_ for making me laugh :)**

 **I can't believe the next chapter is the last. I honestly can't. The reason this chapter is so early is because I'm going away for over a week and I won't get any writing done- the chapter will probably come on August 4th or 5th. Those are the only free day I have between now and August 11th XD**

 **Thank you for all your support thus far! I hope to see you one more time next week!**


	79. Bye

**Chapter** **79: Bye**

Aliara ranked sixth in the next voting session, kicking her out of the rankings and her possibilities of becoming chairman dropping to zero.

She was thrilled.

Not that she had time to celebrate- she was jumping rooftops in order to get to the hospital as fast as possible. On the streets, she'd be recognized, there'd be traffic, she'd be slowed down. But up on the roof? Nothing but her and the pigeons. Sure, the pigeons were annoying and kind of stupid- but they had the sense to scuttle out of the way as she hurtled by, vaulting over streets to the nearest rooftops as fast as she could.

It didn't take long to get to the hospital; rather, it would've taken longer if she'd gone by the streets. Aliara was surprised to see a large, white tent-like structure set up a bit of a distance from the hospital- maybe a hundred meters or so away- with a black limousine parked outside. Aliara frowned, racing across the hospital roof, before she jumped and skidded to a stop outside the tent, next to a tall lady with a wrinkly face in a dark suit. "What's going on in there?"

The woman frowned, adjusting her monocle. "I'm afraid you have no business being in this area, miss. Please leave."

"Like hell I don't!" Aliara cried out, sidestepping the elderly lady. "My friend is in there!"

She was around the lady in the suit and about to grab the tent flap and push it open when she was blocked. The old lady was fast. "I'm afraid I can't allow you to enter the tent," the lady explained patiently. "Are you, perhaps, Miss Aliara Lorvell?"

"So what if I am?" the black-haired girl demanded, starting to get frantic. "I need to go in there! I need-"

"Master Killua is taking care of it," someone else said, and Aliara twisted her head to see a girl, slightly taller than her, with long dark hair. She was wearing a matching suit to the old lady in front of her. "No one is allowed inside."

"Master Killua?" Aliara repeated, her jaw slipping. "Are you- Are you Killua's butlers?"

"Leave," the girl demanded, her fists clenching, "or-"

"Amane," the elderly lady interrupted, waving her hand. "It's alright. Miss Lorvell is a friend of Master Killua and the boy inside."

 _Friend? It's way more than that._ "We still can't let her in," Amane insisted, narrowing her eyes.

"Like you could stop me," she snarled, tensing up and closing her metal hand into a fist.

"Well-"

The butler was cut off when there was a swell of energy. Aliara blinked as the amount of nen being emitted from the tent threatened to swallow her whole; it was an explosion of white light that forced all three women to stop in their tracks.

The light receded, and Aliara took her chance to dart into the tent.

The tent was huge, and the black-haired girl wasted no time dashing down two separate hallways until she found the source of the nen emission.

Aliara all but launched herself into the main room of the tent. There, laying on the hospital bed, was Gon- completely back to normal. He seemed to be lightly dozing. Killua stood above him, his back turned towards Aliara, holding hands with a younger girl that had long black hair- at least, that was all Aliara could see from her angle.

"Alluka," Killua said, squeezing his younger sister's hand. "Let's go before-"

"Killua!" she called out, her head spinning. "Killua-"

He spun around, so fast that he almost dropped Alluka's hand. Aliara lunged at him, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her head in his shoulder. "You did it," she murmured, feeling his free arm tuck around her waist. "Gon's okay. You did it."

The white-haired boy squeezed her waist once, before he loosened his grip and Aliara brought her hands back down to her side. "Let's get out of here before Gon wakes up," he instructed, turning to glance at his sister. Aliara took a peek at Alluka only to realize that the small girl wasn't looking at Killua at all- she had her pale blue eyes fixated on Aliara.

"Who are you?" she asked, cocking her head.

Aliara wasn't sure if she should answer. She glanced up at Killua. "This is Aliara," Killua said carefully, nodding at her. "My girlfriend." She felt a flare of pride spark in her chest from what he called her, and she beamed at him.

"Oh," Alluka said slowly, frowning. "I'm Alluka."

"I've heard a lot of good things about you," the inventor said, bending down to Alluka's height and trying to smile. "I hope we get along."

Alluka's skepticism faded and the small girl smiled. "Me too."

"Let's go," the white-haired boy urged, tugging Alluka's hand. The trio pushed the curtain that was guarding the entrance aside, moving to the outside hallway, which was currently occupied by the two butlers Aliara had crossed paths with outside. Killua seemed to notice how she tensed up because he asked, "did you run into Tsubone and Amane already?"

"You could say that," Aliara said dryly as the elderly lady raised an eyebrow at her.

Killua didn't even bat an eye as he picked Alluka up in his arms, frowning at the pair of butlers. "Treat Ali with the same respect you'd show to me."

"Yes, Master Killua," Tsubone said immediately, her voice betraying nothing.

"Ali," the white-haired boy said next, turning to her. "I need to have a quick talk with Alluka."

"Okay," Aliara said easily. "Oh- you mean alone. Yeah, sure."

"I'll be out in a second," Killua murmured, his voice tight as he sat down on one of the benches. "Tsubone, Amane, leave. Please."

All three of them left the tent without a word.

* * *

Gon left the hospital tent five minutes before Killua did, and Aliara tackled him in a hug that lasted twenty seconds, easily. Happy tears were pricking her eyes because her best friend was okay. He wasn't dying, he wasn't going to die, he wasn't damaged so bad that repair seemed hopefully. He was happy, he was healthy, he was breathing, and he was back.

Morel volunteered to take Gon down to the conference room, where all hunters were supposed to be in order to vote on the next chairman. Aliara could care less, but she knew Leorio was campaigning only because he was trying to support Gon.

When Killua came out of the tent with Alluka, his eyes were rimmed with redness and he seemed stiff as he walked. Alluka seemed to be okay, although her eyes were a bit red too. When she cocked an eyebrow at him, he just shrugged and kind of nodded, bobbing his head up and down until he eventually tucked his chin into his chest. The black-haired girl wrapped her arms around him and felt him sigh as he sank into her hug.

An hour later, they were back in the hotel room Killua had gotten her. Alluka had passed out on the bed, sleeping peacefully.

When Aliara asked Killua about what happened, his reply was only, "I made a promise."

"To do what?"

"Protect Alluka. No matter what." He sighed. "I haven't exactly been a great older brother."

"I'm sure you did what you could," the dark-haired girl insisted, sitting herself down on the armchair.

Killua squeezed next to her and laced their fingers together, sending tingles of warmth up Aliara's arm. "No. I left her there, at home. Illumi wants to take her and harness her powers for himself, so I need to protect her."

Aliara squeezed his hand lightly, leaning her head against his shoulder. "So what next?"

"What'd you mean?"

"Gon reunited with his father, right?" she explained, nestling herself closer to his side. "I saw it on the television. There's no more... Well, no more huge danger issues we have to worry about anymore, I guess. No deadly bugs to kill."

He smiled softly. "No games to complete."

"No auctions to prepare for," she added.

"No exams to crush," he continued.

"No families to escape from," Aliara said happily, sighing quietly.

Killua squeezed her hand. "No more feelings to hide."

They basked in silence for a second, listening to the slow sound of Alluka's breathing, despite Aliara's question going unanswered. "She's adorable," Aliara murmured, glancing at the sleeping child. "I can't believe she's got such a power locked up inside of her."

He nodded. "Yeah. That's why I'm going to protect her from here on out."

"I see," Aliara mused. "Can I help?"

There was a quiet pause until Killua whispered, "you'd do that?"

"Well, of course," Aliara said, surprised that Killua didn't seem to expect she'd want to tag along. "I know how much she means to you. I don't have any set plans right now, so I'd prefer to spend my time with... with you. Obviously."

"Of course," Killua agreed immediately, his grip on her hand tightening. "I'm happy you want to come."

The black-haired girl hummed in agreement, her eyelids fluttering shut for a half second. "Why wouldn't I? No more danger means more time for us."

He laughed softly, a happy musical sound that made Aliara's heart do a little tap dance. Killua's free hand roamed to her neck, gingerly picking up the silver chain from her necklace. "You're wearing it?"

"Why are you surprised?" Aliara asked, rolling her eyes. "I love it."

"Good," he said firmly. "I didn't know if you would-"

"Then you don't know me that well," she said, effectively cutting him off. A smirk grew on her face as she added, "Ghost Boy."

She watched with satisfaction as the smile grew on his face. "I think I know you pretty well by now. Sunshine."

After more snuggling (and maaaaybe a bit of kissing...) Aliara felt her eyes shut, finally able to sleep in peace. Gon was alive, Killua was by her side, and the world couldn't be better.

* * *

Gon's father left him a message. He would be waiting at the top of the tallest tree in the city- the tallest structure in the world.

Aliara and Killua immediately agreed to accompany him there, eager to see what Gon would be climbing, with Alluka in tow. The trip into town proved to be exciting- they stopped for ice cream for the last time together (for a while, at least), they got their group photo taken by a photographer, and they watched a few street performers.

It was when it was time to say good bye that things got difficult.

"Well, this is where we part," Killua started.

Aliara whacked him lightly across the shoulder. "That sounds so formal. Stop it." She turned to Gon and practically tackled him in a hug. "Stay safe, buddy. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too," Gon replied, squeezing her back. "Thank you both for everything you did for me."

"No problem," the white-haired boy said with a shrug. "Anytime. It's thanks to travelling with you that I can take Alluka with me now. She's the one who healed you, by the way."

"No way!" Gon cried out, glancing at Killua's younger sister. "Thank you!"

"I'm prepared to spend the rest of my life protecting her," he vowed, grabbing Alluka's hand as the small girl beamed at Gon. "No matter what."

"And I'm tagging along," Aliara added, grinning at Alluka. "Sometimes, we might need a little girl time. Right?"

"Yeah," she chimed, and the trio laughed.

Gon tried to smile but his smile wobbled. "I'll miss you guys. Thank you for everything."

"No, thank _you,"_ Aliara insisted. "I wouldn't be where I am without either of you two."

"Stay in touch," Killua said, "call us every now and then."

"I will!"

"Bye, Gon!"

"See you later!"

Aliara turned away from the dark-haired boy as he made his way towards the tree. Killua, still hand in hand with Alluka, started walking. "So, what'd you want to do first?"

She pulled something out of the side pocket on her track pants. It was the photo they had taken when exploring town this morning. Killua had his arm around Alluka and was waving at the camera with a cheeky grin; Alluka was flashing a peace sign; Gon was on the other side of Alluka, smiling so hard that his eyes were shut.

And Aliara was on Killua's left, grinning like mad.

These two dorks had flipped her entire life around. Aliara couldn't believe how far they'd come or how she never would've done even half of the things that she did in the last year and a half. Without them, she'd probably still be trapped at home.

"I want to do _everything,"_ she said confidently, running to catch up to Killua.

Aliara Lorvell had never felt so free.

* * *

 **WOW. I'm done.**

 **...oh my god.**

 **...I'm actually done?**

 ***sobs* I don't want to be done...**

 **THANK YOU. Without you wonderful readers, this story would not have been as successful as it was. Even if you followed just for kicks and I've never talked to you, I appreciate you to no end. Thank you all so much for all your kind words and the motivation that kept me going through this journey.**

 **Coincidentally, this story was staring a little over a year and a half ago, and Aliara's tale takes place over a year and a half. Funny how that worked out ;)**

 **For the final time, thank you to _digilover23, Caraa, KilluaKagura, Awesomeness3013, Eliza211, supboyyyyy93, Guest, guest, Oof, Child-of-Strength, EC,_ and _Yozora531_ for your lovely feedback!**

 **Some of you requested an epilogue. This is my take on what would've happened if nothing disastrous came to pass in their near future:**

Adrianna Lorvell was brought to court a year later by none other than Kuro, Ano, and Aliara. They spent the previous year digging up all the evidence they could possibly find, and after tracking down their mother and bringing her to court, she was declared guilty of a huge list of crimes. Adrianna Lorvell wouldn't be getting out of jail for a long time.

Aliara's metal hand attracted a lot of media attention- especially from the fact that she built it herself. She was tracked down by an ex police officer, who had lost a leg after the Chimera ant incident. Aliara designed and built a new leg for him (after a hefty sum of money, of course, and maybe a bit of pity for the poor guy), but after that, her talent wasn't something she could keep secret. She started designing complex prosthetic limbs and she managed to take the time to build them on her travels with Killua. She was on the path to being as rich as her mother- the proper way, this time.

Eventually, she made herself a website, where people placed orders and she'd make them something. Some cases she was more eager to start than others- for example, one man lost an eye during a war and she was very excited to try to create him a new one, but she wasn't overly eager to design a new pinky finger for a man who accidentally cut it off with a power saw.

Killua and Aliara's relationship progressed positively throughout the years. Their arguments were minor and were settled in no time at all. It eventually made it into social media- the Zoldyck heir dating the crazy Lorvell girl was quite the interesting headline- but the two were almost impossible to track down. Alluka was pampered like a princess between the two of them.

They would, eventually, go on to have kids- after a lengthy discussion that their kids would be treated differently than they were. They would end up with two- a small boy with silvery hair and startling green eyes, and another girl with blonde hair and Killua's dark blue eyes.

 **Just in case you wanted something wrapped up. Hope this helped.**

 **I can't emphasize enough- thank you all so much. The support I received for this story was more than I ever could've imagined. Aliara Lorvell is the most complex OC I've created yet and I couldn't have dreamed of how well she developed.**

 **Thank you for joining Aliara through her story.**

 **I love all of you so much.**


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